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SYLLABIFICATION AND A^ 

PR 3597 
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' IN THE 

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Paradise Lost 



A DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIVERSITY STUL '"^^- 

OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY FOR THE 

DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. 



BY 



GEORGE DOBBIN BROWN. 



BALTIMORE 
JOHN MURPHY COMPANY 

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9 



CONTENTS 



INTEODUCTION. 

Page. 
Metrical views of 

Bridges 1 

Dr. Johnson 3 

Guest 5 

Poe 10 

Ellis 11 

Masson 12 

Abbott and Seeley 13 

Lanier 15 

Schipper 17 

Mayor ., 18 

Gummere 21 

Symonds 22 

Editors of the Arden Shakespeare 24 

Konig 27 

Kobertson 28 

Lewis 29 



PART I.— SYLLABIFICATION. 

A. Within a Word. 
a. Synizesis and dieresis. 

1. a before or after tonic vowel 34 

2. a 4- atonic vowel 35 

3. e before or after tonic vowel 35 

4. e + atonic vowel 36 

5. i before or after tonic vowel 36 

6. i-\- atonic vowel 37 

7. before or after tonic vowel 38 

8. + atonic vowel 38 

9. u before or after tonic vowel 38 

10. u + atonic vowel 38 

11. Other tonic combinations 39 

iii 



CONTENTS. 

lopment of syllabic nasals and liquids and consequent synizesis with con- 
tiguous syllables 40 

' The syllabic nasal or liquid undergoes synizesis with atonic vowel : 

bordering > bordr-ing > bordring 40 

1 40 

m 41 

n 41 

r 42 

II a. Development of syllabic liquidor nasalfrom vowel-^-liquid or nasal, and 

consequent synizesis with tonic syllahle : fallen >falln >falln...AO, 43 

1 44 

m 44 

n 44 

r 45 

II b. Development of syllabic r from r + vowel, and consequent synizesis 

with tonic vowel : flourishing >flou-r-shing >flourshing 40, 46 

r 46 

y. Syncopation 46 

B. Syllabification between Woeds. 

Customary elisions 47 

Less usual elisions 48 

Apocope and apheresis 49 

PART II.— NUMBEE AND POSITION OF ACCENTS. 

Professor Bright's metrical theory 51 

Symbols and terms 54 

1-4. Light and Heavy iambs. 

1. Light iamb 56 

2. H'6avy iamb 56 

3. Lig^ + heavy iamb — Conflict of stresses 56 

a. Conflict between two words 57 

6. Conflict between two syllables of one word 57 

List of words like against used in descending rhythm 57 

c. The relation of light + heavy iamb to triple rhythm 58 

4. Erroneous scansion of light -f- heavy iamb by anapaestic postponement 

of arsis 59 

5. Trochaic substitution 60 

Trochee -\- heavy iamb compared to E * 61 



CONTENTS. V 

6-8. Unstable iamb in normal environment. 

Page, 

6. Final unstable iamb 62 

7. The non-csesural unstable iamb formed by one word 62 

List of unstable iambs 63 

8. The unstable iamb formed by two words 65 

9-11. The unstable iamb in combination with other feet 
than stable iambs. 

9. Trochee -f- unstable iamb 66 

10. Unstable iamb -j- heavy iamb 67 

11. Unstable iamb 4- unstable iamb 68 

12-13. Light iamb -|- unstable iamb. 

12. Light iamb + unstable iamb + stable iamb 68 

13. Light iamb + unstable iamb + heavy iamb 69 

The accent of various words 70 

Life. 75 



INTRODUCTION. 



In a recent number of The Academy Mr. Le Gallienne regrets 
that Sidney Lanier spent his precious time and energy in the 
composition of The Science of English Verse, " I wonder," he 
says, "whom these learned treatises on metre benefit. Not the 
poets, I am thinking. I imagine that Mr. Stephen Phillips 
would have written as good blank verse though Mr. Robert 
Bridges's treatise on Miltonic blank verse had never seen that 
dim light of publicity vouchsafed to technical masterpieces." 

We are not concerned with that part of Mr. Le Gallienne's 
criticism which expresses contempt of learned treatises on metre. 
Such deliverances on the part of critics of the class to which 
Mr. Le Gallienne belongs upon the futility of the scientific study 
of aesthetic phenomena delight, of course, the art-amateur for 
whom they are especially composed. But the conscientious 
investigator against whom they are directed is to an even 
greater extent amused. And so no harm is done. 

The part of the criticism to which I would call attention is 
its estimate of Bridges's essay, for Mr. Le Gallienne expresses 
the general judgment which has been passed upon that work. 
Mr. Bridges's treatise, Milton's Prosody, Oxford, 1894, is con- 
sidered an excellent exposition of the underlying principles of 
Miltonic blank verse. What, then, it may be asked, is the need 
of another such study? 

Metricians are agreed upon the type-line in blank verse. 
Dramatic blank verse differs from this norm often very widely, 
and may therefore be termed free. With such variations we are 
not concerned. Non-dramatic blank verse, on the other hand, 
as in Milton, Wordsworth, Tennyson, adheres much more closely 
to the model and may be termed strict. Even in strict blank 
verse, however, variations from the norm are frequent. It is 

1 



2 SyUabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

with the nature of these variations from the norm in Milton's 
blank verse (both epic aad dramatic) that the nucleus (pp. 7-45) 
of Mr. Bridges's paper deals, all the fundamental questions being 
touched upon in the part concerning Paradise Lost (pp. 7-23). 
On page 6 Mr. Bridges defines a regular blank verse as having 

(1) ten syllables, 

(2) and five verse-stresses, 

(3) which fall on the even syllables. 

This is a satisfactory definition of the typical line. But a 
number of variations are allowed, and it is with the nature 
and extent of these variations that the metrician is chiefly 
concerned. 

With regard to (1), Mr. Bridges decides that, with the exception 
of a final light eleventh syllable making a feminine ending, there 
are no supernumerary syllables, those which apparently occur 
being obviated by elision. He is thus enabled to scan the verses 
of Milton without recourse to trisyllabic feet. In this we fully 
agree with him. There is required, however, a somewhat fuller 
account of this matter, which we shall attempt in Part I of this 
study. 

With reference to Milton's usage under (2) and (3), we hold that 

Mr. Bridges is altogether wrong. Under (2) he thinks we may 

have an unstressed foot or pyrrhic ( u u ). Thus he gets lines 

of only four, and even of but three, accents. It is strange that 

he does not in like manner go to the other extreme of finding 

/ / 
feet with two verse-accents, as in this new world, and thus getting 

a line of more than five verse-stresses. Of course we do fre- 
quently have two unstressed, as well as two stressed, syllables 
used as a verse-foot. But in each case there is one and only 
one ictus (or verse-stress). Just how this is managed is considered 
in Part II. 

In the matter of (3) the distribution of the five verse-stresses, we 
shall find that a variation in the position of an ictus results in 
the substitution of a trochee for an iamb. The restrictions to 
trochaic substitution are three : — 

(a) It may not occur in the final foot. 

(6) It may not occur in two successive feet. 

(c) It may occur only initially and after a caesura. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 3 

In these several aspects of (3), also, Mr. Bridges errs. A retreat- 
ment of this subject is therefore desirable. This we have attempted 
in Part II. 

Before passing to a study of Miltonic blank verse, we shall 
briefly indicate the teachings of various other metricians, some 
of whom are concerned with Milton in particular, while others 
discuss the subject of blank verse in general. It will be necessary 
to state the opinions of each upon the three points mentioned 
above : — 

(1) The number of syllables in the line, — -false theories allowing 
trisyllabic feet; (2) the number of verse-stresses in the line, — 
false theories allowing the typical number of five to be increased 
or diminished ; (3) the disposition of the stresses. Here two 
kinds of erroneous scansion are possible : {a) improper use of 
trochaic substitution ; (^8) just the inverse of trochaic substitu- 
tion is the method of scansion which may be termed anapestic 

postponement of the ictus. It is illustrated by 
_ X X / /, 
Pursues as inclina\tion or \ sad choice. II 524. 

This kind of scansion is never to be tolerated. The line must 

be read 

. .. ,x / X /. 
Pursues an inGlina\tion or \ sad choice. 

In his four papers^ on Milton's versification in the Rambler 

for the year 1751, Dr. Johnson makes no very explicit statement 

as to (1) the number of syllables in the poet's epic line ; but from 

two passages we may gather that he considered a hyper metric 

syllable to be allowable only when final. In the first of these 

passages he recognizes (though in general censuring) the large 

rdle which elision plays in Milton's verse. Thus for example 

he scans IV 249, and VII 236, 

If true, here only and of delicious taste. 

And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth. 



'" I believe every reader will agree," he says, referring to these 
and other lines, " that in all those passages, though not equally 
in all, the music is -injured, and in some the meaning obscured. 
There are other lines in which the vowel is cut ofi", but is so 

1 Nos. 86, 88, 90, 94. 



4 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

faintly pronounced in common speech that the loss of it i» 
scarcely perceived ; and, therefore, such compliance with the 
measure may be allowed." Among examples of the less undesir- 
able usage he cites 

They viewed the vast immensurable abyss. YII 211 . 

Yet even such contractions, he thinks, increase " the roughness of 
a language too rough already; and though in long poems they 
may be sometimes suffered, it can never be faulty to forbear 
them." 

" Milton," he continues, in the second passage above referred 
to, " frequently uses in his poems the hypermetrical or redundant 
line of eleven syllables 

I also err^d in overmuch admiring. IX 1 1 78." 
These passages would show that the extra-metric syllable is,, 
according to Johnson's view, always to be obviated by elision,, 
except when forming the feminine ending to a line. 

With regard to (2) the number of stresses. Dr. Johnson says 
" In some [lines] the accent is equally upon two syllables together^ 
and in both strong; as [the last two syllables in] 

Thus at their shady lodge arrived, both stood. TV 720. 
... In others the accent is equally upon two syllables, but 
upon both weak, [as the first foot of] 

And when they seek, as now, thy gift of sleep. TV 735." 
These usages, which Johnson considers to some degree ' licentious,' 
are examples of what he calls the mixed measure, " in which 
some variation of the accents is allowed ; this, though it always 
injures the harmony of the line considered by itself, yet compen- 
sates the loss by relieving us from the continual tyranny of the 
same sound, and makes us more sensible of the harmony of the 
pure measure." 

He does not explain how in these and like examples the 
arsis is distinguished from the other equally accented syllable 
in the foot, — how, in other words, these lines are not lines of 
six and four arses respectively. 

(3) Dr. Johnson sets a limit to trochaic substitution. He says- 
" In the first pair of syllables the accent may deviate from the 
rigour of exactness, without any unpleasing diminution of har- 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 5 

-mony . . . But, excepting in the first pair of syllables, which 
may be considered as arbitrary, a poet . . . should seldom suffer 
more than one aberration from the rule in any single verse." 

This expression does not rule out the final trochee, successive 
trochees, or the non-csesural trochee. 

The terminology used in Dr. Guest's History of English 
Rhythms, 1838 (Skeat's edition, London, 1882), is too unusual 
to be introduced here ; moreover the principle upon which this 
terminology is based, namely that the section is the unit of 
verse, has not been found serviceable by English metricians. 
It is easy, however, to point out what his system allows as 
to the (1) number of syllables, and (2) the number and (3) 
position of accents. 

(1) The number of syllables. Dr. Guest often obviates extra- 
metric, syllables. " The synalsepha or coalition [or synclisis] of two 
vowels," he says, (Skeat's ed. p. 68 f.), " is now tolerable in very 
few instances. . . . Formerly this union of vowels was far 
more general." Milton pushed this liberty, "as every other 
license, to the utmost." 

In the matter of what he terms elision, or what is more 

commonly known as syncopation (which, however, we believe to 

be more properly a species of synizesis), Dr. Guest approves of 

the printing of the earlier editions, which indicated when a word 

was thus shortened. " Of late years, however, the fashionable 

opinion has been that in such cases the vowel may be pronounced 

without injury to the rhythm. Thelwall discovered in Milton 

*an appoggiatura, or syllable more than is counted in the bar,' 

and was of opinion that such syllables 'constitute an essential 

part of the expressive harmony of the best writers, and should 

never in typography or utterance be superseded by the barbarous 

expedient of elision.' He marks them with the short quantity, 

and reads the following verses one with twelve, and the other 

with thirteen syllables ! 

u _ u 

Covering the beach, and blackening all the strand. Dryden. 
u u u 

Ungrateful offering to the immoi^tal powers. Pope." (p. 175 f.) 

We thus see that Dr. Guest would generally do away with 

extra-metric syllables in the strict heroic line, and he accordingly 



6 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

properly considers ominous as dissyllabic in II 123, 
Om(i)nous conjecture on the whole success. 
Thus too he considers ethereal trisyllabic and elides the e of the in 
I 45, 

X X / 

HurVd headlong flaming from \ tK ethe\real sky | . 

We are therefore much surprised to find him carefully indicating 

trisyllabic feet in : 

X X / 
II 450, Me from attempting where\fore do 1 1 assume. 

X X / 
X 121, So dreadful to theef That \ thou art na\hed who. 

and in a number of other lines. 

Especially noteworthy is this misscansion, 

X X / 

YII 592, Now resting, blessed and hal\low'd the se\venth day. 

when we note the subordination of the numeral in the similar 

lines VII 260, 338, 386, 448, 550. It is true that in YII 275 

the necessarily dissyllabic form of second brings its first syllable 

into the arsis ; but in VII 592 the numeral must undoubtedly 

be scanned seventh and sink to the thesis of the last foot. 

(2) With regard to the number of accents in the line. Guest 
expresses himself explicitly, saying (Skeat's ed. p. 87) " Milton 
wrote his poem in verses ot five'^ accents. This remark is made 
with reference to the proper scansion of a series of equally import- 
ant monosyllabic words. Concerning this matter he says " When 
two or more words of the same kind follow each other consecu- 
tively, they all take an equal accent. If they are monosyllables, 
a pause intervenes between every two." Thus he finds proper 
juxtaposition of stress in every line of Sydney's sonnet in Arcadia, 

Lib. Ill, beginning 

. / / / 

Virtue, beautie and speech did strike, wound, charm, 
III 
My heart, eyes, ears, with wonder, love, delight. 

And yet he considers the metrical merit of these verses but 
small, — a rather severe judgment, as they follow his own rule. 
The Elizabethan interest in metrical questions and experiments 
makes it possible, but not probable, I think, that Sydney did 
intend this sonnet to be read with six accents (some juxtaposed) 
to the line, and indeed the verses are represented as having been 



Syllabifieation and Accent in the Paradise Lost, 7 

" with some art curiously written ; " but it is more likely that 
they are pentametres and that their curious art is to be found 
in the heavy theses which are so frequently used as to give the 
lines a marked rhythmic effect. 

Guest considers that the strictly proper scansion of equally 
important monosyllabic words as strike, wound, charm is fre- 
quently violated, and that one or more of the monosyllables 
must lose the accent ; thus, for example, the words marked A i^i 

A / / A / / / 

Fear, sickness, age, loss, labour, sorrow, strife. 

Faery Queen, 1, 9, 44. 
This violation of the rule "is probably ... on account of 
the great number of English monosyllables," which practically 
often necessitates the subordination of some of them to the 
thesis-position. " False accentuation " of this kind, he continues, 
" very often leads to ambiguity. In 

High-climbing rock, low sunless dale. 
Sea, desert, lohat do these avails 

Wordsworth, White Doe of Rylstone. 7, 14. 
there might be a question, whether the author did not mean sea- 
desert, the waste of ocean. 

"When the words are collected into groups, this law of [the 
equal accent of a] sequence [of equally important monosyllabic 
words] affects the groups only, and not the individual. Thus 
I think there would be no fair objection to the mode in which 

Byron accents the verse, 

/ , / 

Young, old, — high, low, — at once the same division share. 

Child e Harold 1, 71. 

Nor to Milton's famous line 

/ / / / / 

Rocks, caves, — lakes, fens, — bogs, dens,^ — and shades of death. 

This last verse has been variously accented. Mitford accents 

the first six words, thus making a verse of eight accents, though 

Milton wrote his poem in verses of five." 

The important point in all this is that Guest allows only five 

accents in the line, and in order to keep down to this number 

^ Guest makes this note: Den means a low wood bottom, such as often marks 
a stream . . .; hence it is coupled with bog. 



8 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

insists that prominent words must at times suffer an accentual 
subordination, which with regard to sense he considers to be more 
or less faulty according to the grouping of the words. 

Concerning the method of obtaining five arses when the prose- 
accent would furnish less than five, he says "There is no word, 
however unimportant, which may not be accented when it lies 

adjacent only to unaccented syllables." Thus 

/ 
A murderer, a revolter, and a villian. 

Samson Agonistes, 1180. 

And in this line might have been placed in the same category. 

We thus see that Dr. Guest demands five and only five metrical 
accents or arses in the pentameter. 

(3) It is in the matter of the disposition of accents that Dr. 
Guest goes most astray, though it may be said to his credit that 
it is usually in the ease of really " hard " lines. His chief sin 
is that he allows double or successive trochaic substitution ; thus 

/ X / X 

With im\petuous | recoil and jan-ing sound. II 880 

/ X /x 
Shoots in\visi\ble virtue e!en to the deerp. Ill 586. 

Also in V 413, 760, 874, VI 33, 333, VII 527, 533, VIII 299, 

XI 79, 377; and in P. R. I 175, II 180, 243, IV 289, 597. 

It is hardly necessary to say that the substitution of a single 
trochaic foot is fully recognized by Guest. 

Anapsestic postponement of the accent— just the inverse of 

trochaic substitution — Guest does not find in Milton, fortunately 

letting the laws of the metre override the natural prose-accent 

rather than making such a faulty inversion. Lines where this 

kind of conflict between the verse-requirements and the prose- 

/ / 

accent occurs he considers faulty. So the prime for the prime in 

She was not the prime cause, but I myself. 

Samson Agonistes, 234. 
And many others.^ 

In V 158, 

/ 
Thy goodness beyond thought and powW divine. 

^ Of this fault, he says, even Pope was guilty : 

In words as fashions the same rule will hold. 

Essays on Criticism, 333. 



SyUabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 9 

Dr. Guest seems to think that the accent beyond may have been 

/ . / / / . 

used even in prose, as also besides, because, before, against, etc., 

found in other lines. It is to be noted, however, that such a 

prose-accent is now impossible, and yet Tennyson writes 

A life of nothing, nothing worth 

I 
From that first nothing before birth 

To that last nothing under earth. 

It is strange therefore that in Byron's Manfred, 2, 5, Guest 

scans with two consecutive anapaestic postponements of the accent, 

thus making the impossible reading 

X X / X / / 

_ Look on 1 me, the \ grave hath | not changed \ thee more. 

The proper scansion of this halting line is, of course, 

// // 

Look on I me, the \ grave hath \ not changed thee more. 

Guest's book is very valuable as a storehouse of examples of 
metrical phenomena, but the metrical theory which the book 
expounds has been rightly rejected. It is interesting, in this 
general dearth of insight into matters of prosody, to find half 
a paragraph containing a really penetrating remark upon the 
roles played in rhythm by pitch and expiratory accent ; but 
of the important fact here observed he makes no further use in 
his book. It is a fact, however, which has a most significant 
bearing upon the fundamental problems of English metre. 

After noticing on p. 75 that " though an increase of loudness 
be the only thing essential to our English accent, yet it is in 
almost every instance accompanied by an increased sharpness 
of tone," he points out (p. 80) that when an " emphatic syllable 
adjoins upon one, which ought, according to the usual laws of 
construction, to be more strongly accented," ... we may " dis- 
tinguish the emphatic syllable by mere sharpness of tone, and 
leave the stress of the voice, or in other words the essential 
part of the accent, on the ordinary syllable. Thus in Spenser's 
line 

Flesh can impair, quoth she, but reason can repair. 

F. Q. 1, 7,41. 
both the rhythm, and the common laws of accentuation will have 
the last syllable of repair accented ; but purposes of contrast 



10 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

require that the first syllable should be emphatic. The stress 
therefore falls on the last syllable and the sharp tone on the 
first." So he marks, with the pitch-accent the emphasis on us in 
Samson Agonistes, 309, 

Who made our laws to bind us, not himself. 
It is true that pitch-accent as here used by Guest to mark a 
rhetorically emphatic syllable falling in the thesis, does not 
immediately offer a means of reconciliation in the conflict 
between a fully accented syllable falling in the thesis, and a 
weaker syllable appearing in the arsis, — a phenomenon illustrated 
by the last foot of the line 

Which of us who beholds the bright \ surface \ . 
We shall see later, however, in the first pages of Part II, that 
by a slight extension in the use of pitch-accent we may find 
a means of marking as arses syllables which do not receive 
the chief prose-stress. This important metrical principle Dr. 
Guest would seem to have nearly discovered. 

Edgar Allan Poe's essay The Rationale of Verse has some 
good points in regard to English metre. His treatment of 
classical metres, however, is altogether futile. How could he 
have enjoyed Horace, when scanned as he suggests ; turning 
this line, for example, 

Mcecen\as, ata]vis \ edite \ regibus. 
into an accentual dactylic line 

— uu — uu — uu — uu ! 

Moreover, he entirely misses the meaning of synclisis and syni- 
zesis, whereby two vowels in contact may blend into a (monosyl- 
labic) diphthong without loss of their phonetic integrity. 

With reference to successive trochaic substitutions he says, 
" Where vehemence is to be strongly expressed, I am not sure that 
we should be wrong in venturing on two consecutive equivalent 
feet, although I cannot say that I have ever known the adventure 
made except in the following passage, which occurs in 'Al Aaraaf/ 
a boyish poem written by myself when a boy. I am referring to 
the sudden and rapid advent of a star," which is described in the 
midst of a series of iambic pentameters, as coming 

— KJ — O 

Headlong \ hiiher\ward o'er the starry sea. 



Syllabifidation and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 11 

Poe deserves praise for laying emphasis upon one important 
metrical fact throughout his essay. I refer to the temporal equiv- 
alence of feet. Thus he says, "No feet .... differing [in time] 
can ever be legitimately used in the same line. . . . The point 
of time is that point which, being the rudimental one, must never 
be tampered with." Further on he speaks of the necessity of the 
"whole time of a foot being unchanged" as having been already 
established in the essay. Again he objects to the current books 
on classical prosody which declare "that the first foot of this 
species of verse [the verse of Horace's first ode] may be a trochee, 
and seem to be gloriously unconscious that to put a trochee in 
opposition with a longer foot, is to violate the inviolable principle 
of all music^ time." 

Mr. Ellis's views, as stated in his Essentials of Phonetics, Lon- 
don, 1848, his Early English Pronunciation, 1869, and repeated 
by quotation in a paper read before the English Philological Society 
in June, 1876, and published in its Transactions, are not quite 
so free as Mr. Masson's, to be presently considered, and yet admit 
licenses we should forbid. It is to be noted that Ellis is speaking 
about blank verse in general, not, like Masson, only of Milton's. 

With regard to (1) the number of syllables in the line, he admits 
trisyllabic feet. He also admits (2) doubly stressed or unstressed 
feet, thus both raising and lowering the number of stresses from 
the number in the type-line. 

(3) The occurrence of trochaic substitution is limited by these 
two sentences of 1848 and 1869, which, as Mr. Mayor points out, 
do not wholly agree. 1848 : "It is necessary that there should be 
an accent on the last syllable, either of the third and fifth meas- 
ures, or of the second and fourth. If either of these requisites 
is complied with, other accents may be distributed almost at 
pleasure." 

"1869 : There must be a principal stress on the last syllable of 
the second and fourth measures ; or of the first and fourth ; or of 
the third and some other. If any one of these three conditions is 
satisfied, the verse so far as stress is concerned is complete." 

That is, Ellis considers iambs are necessary only as follows : — 

' The italics are mine. 



12 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 
1st. 2nd. 3rd. 4th. 5th. 

1848'^' 



u — u — 

u — u — 

u — 



A glance at this table shows that Ellis allows final and suc- 
cessive trochaic substitution, and (since he makes no mention of an 
antecedent verse-pause as a necessary condition) non-csesural inver- 
sion. About all he forbids, indeed, seems to be, first, a succession 
of more than two trochees, and, second, double trochaic substitu- 
tion twice in one line. 

Mr. Masson in the introduction to his Poetical Worlcs of John 
Milton, London, 1874, takes a very free view of (1), (2), and (3). 
His ideas may be indicated by a few quotations. 

After scanning the first twenty-six lines of Paradise Lost, he 
says : " In thirteen lines the iambus is absent from the second 
place and we have a pyrrhic, a trochee, a spondee, or even an 
anapest, or an amphibracchius instead." 

"A study of the facts puts all formally right by declaring that 
English blank verse admits a trochee, a spondee, or a pyrrhic for 
the iamb in almost any place of the line. 

" Less numerous than the' lines that escape the strict 5 X « 
[== 5 iamb] formula by the substitution of the trochee, the pyr- 
rhic, or the spondee, for the iamb, but still very frequent, are the 
lines which escape from the formula by the bolder substitution of 
one of the trisyllabic feet. This occasions even greater irregularity 
in appearance ; for wherever an anapest, a dactyl, or a tribrach or 
other trisyllabic foot, displaces an iambus, the line, of course, is 
lengthened to eleven syllables. Nevertheless the trisyllabic varia- 
tion consists with the genius of English blank verse, and imparts 
to it an additional power and freedom. . . . All these lines might 
be rectified into decasyllabics by supposing elisions, slurs, or con- 
tracted utterances ; and there are some who seem to favour such a 
practise. There could be no more absurd error. . . . Are there 



^And in one other foot at the same time. 



Syllabication and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 13 

any examples of two trisyllabic variations in one line ? There are, 
though exceedingly rare. 

" Though five beats or accents are the normal measure of blank 
verse, yet the number of accents, unless in a peculiar sense of 
accent not realized in actual pronunciation/ is also variable. In a 
good many of the lines [in a list he has just given] only four dis- 
tinct accents can be counted. In three lines, I can detect but 
three ; and, on the other hand, in a very few spondaic lines the 
number seems to mount to six, seven, or even eight." 

Thus we see that Masson (1) lets the number of syllables exceed 
ten, (2) varies widely the number of stresses in a line, and (3) 
admits successive, final, and non-csesural trochaic (and its variant 
dactylic) substitution. 

In Abbott and Seeley's English Lessons for English People, 
London, 1879, the authors, in a chapter on modern English metre 
in general, say with regard to (1), "As a general rule it may be stated 
that the modern blank verse is, for the most part, more strict than 
that of Milton, and Milton is more strict than Shakspere, in lim- 
iting himself to ten syllables in a line. Milton uses capital, popu- 
lous, as trisyllabic feet." Frequently however an apparently 
supernumerary syllable is obviated, for "a vowel termination 
before an initial vowel is often elided in Milton." 

(2) Defect of accent is not allowed, for a syllable unaccented in 
prose may take, when falling in arsis-position, a verse-stress, thus — 

Nor served \it to\ relax their serried files. 
Similarly, excess of accent is not allowed, for a syllable, heavily 
stressed in prose, takes, when standing in theses-position, no verse- 
stress, thus — 

With head, | hands, wings, \ or feet, pursues his way. 
where hands, wings, though equally and heavily stressed in prose, 
furnishes but one arsis. 

Further, as a consequence of the two licenses above, it may 
happen that a light arsis falls directly before a heavy thesis, as in 
the I love-tale \ . " This sequence," described ii^ the English Lessons 
as being "so common in our best poets," Mr. Abbott had fre- 

^ This half-admission is to be noted. 



14 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

quently tried in his earlier book, A Shakespearian Grammar, 2nd 
ed., Loudon, 1870, to obviate in a very violent manner, by consid- 
ering the heavy thesis to have become " lengthened " or else dis- 
syllabic, and thus to fill at once the place of the preceding arsis 
and of itself, causing the syllable which might have stood as a 
light arsis to become a thesis ; thus in the Grammar we find not 

Your breath first kindled the dead, coal of war. 
but 

X / X X / (X) / 

Your breath \ first kindled | the dea — | — d coal \ of war. 
This is what we have already named the anapsestic postponement 
of the arsis, — a method of scansion which is always erroneous. 

It is well that Mr. Abbott has seen fit to give this principle up ; 
and yet, without it, and having announced in his English Lessons 
that metrical accent, " if it fall on any syllable of a word, must fall 
on the principal word-accent," it is hard to see how he would scan 
the marked off feet in such a line as X 805, 

His sen\tence be\yond dust \ and nature^s law. 
where it seems necessary either to let the verse-accent fall on be-, or 
to make the extraordinary kind of backward inversion (anapaestic 
postponement of arsis) described above. Each of these methods 
Abbott seems to forbid. The first is of course to be followed 
without hesitation. 

(3) As to the restriction of trochaic substitution, Abbott and 

Seeley say " It may be laid down as a rule that in iambic metre 

one trochee cannot follow another. It is usual to quote as an 

exception 

/ . / / / / 

Universal reproach far worse to bear. 

Such a line would be a monstrosity, and it is far more likely that 

Milton pronounced the word Universal, perhaps influenced by the 

fact that the a is long in Latin." 

Earlier, in the Grammar, Abbott seemed to think two successive 

trochees probable, though not quite certain ; and indeed he there 

cites 

/ . / 
Uni\versal I reproach far worse to bear. 

Trochaic substitution in the final foot I do not find mentioned in 

the English Lessons. It is allowed in the Grammar. 



Syllabifieation and Acoent in the Pai^adise Lost. 15 

That at least a slight verse-pause is required before trochaic sub- 
stitution, is explicitly stated in the English Lessons. It is also 
implied in such a remark as " "We may lay it down as a rule that 
a trochee in the middle of a verse must not follow an unemphatic 

accent. Hence it is allowable to write 

/ / X 

Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered. 

because the emphatic word cups, long in quantity as well as 

emphatic, necessitates a kind of pause after it which makes a break 

between the two accents. But we could not so well write 
/ / 

Be in their happiness \ freshly \ remember' dJ^ 

-ness being too light for a following pause. 

" The following seem to be remarkable exceptions : — 

/ / 
Burnt after them to the \ boUom\less pit. 
and 

/ / 
Light from above, from the {fountain \ of light.''' 

Here the rule that Abbott and Seeley have already laid down, 
that the metrical accent, "if it fall on any syllable in a word, 
must fall on the principal word-accent," makes it impossible for 
the authors to let the syllables -tom and -tain figure as arses, as of 
course they must. 

The fundamental note of Sidney Lanier's The Science of English 
Verse (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1880) is this (p. 65) : 
" Rhythm of any sort is impossible, except through the co5rdina- 
tion of time. Time is the essential basis of rhythm. 'Accent ' can 
effect nothing, except in arranging materials already rhythmical 
through some temporal recurrence. Possessing a series of sounds 
temporally equal or temporally proportionate, we can group them 
into various orders of larger and larger groups ... by means of 
accent ; but the primordial temporalness is always necessary." 
The value of Lanier's book consists in the constantly recurring 
emphasis and luminous illustration of this essential truth. Lanier 
was an accomplished musician as well as a poet, and his insight 
into metrical matters was much increased and clarified by his 
musical knowledge. But there are at least some principles of 
musical rhythm which may not be applied to the rhythm of verse, 
and by making a faulty application of this sort Lanier fell into 
one of the few errors of his book. He says that a syllable 



16 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

upon which a verse-accent would regularly fall according to the 
rhythmic type, may either (a) be moved from under the accent, 
or (6) omitted altogether, letting its place in either instance be 
supplied by a temporal rest. This is indeed true of music. It 
is true also of the end of a line in verse. Thus, letting 1 repre- 
sent the temporal rest, we have, for example, a common hymn- 
stanza : 

/ / / 

It is not death to die 1 
I _ I I 

To leave this weary road 1 

/ III 

And 'midst the brotherhood on high 

I I . I 
To be at home with God -L. 

The use of such a rest in the midst of a line, however, is not to 

be allowed. Thus Lanier's method of scanning 

/ X X / X 

(a) Who would believe \mef -\0 peril\ous mouths. 
X X / 

and (6) Than the soft myr\tle ; 1 \ but man \ 'proud man. 

is certainly erroneous. In the case of (a), where a syllable has 

only been removed from under accent, correction is to be made 

by replacing this syllable in the arsis. Thus either 

X / / X X / 

Who would believe \ me f \ peril\ous mouths. 

with a pause after and following trochaic substitution ; or, 

preferably, omitting the pause and using the secondary stress of 

perilous as arsis, 

/ // / 

Who would believe \mef \peril\ous mouths. 

It may here be remarked that Lanier does not recognize the 

use of the secondary stress as a structural element in verse. " Of 

course," he says, " no one would read 

The mistress which I serve quic/cens what's dead." 
If indeed the use of the secondary stress as arsis is not absolutely 
necessary in this line on account of a possible pause after serve 

which would permit quickens, it is in some instances unavoidable, 

as in 

// 
Which of us who beholds the bright sur/ace. 

In the case of (6), where a syllable has been altogether omitted, 

the only method of scansion is with a monosyllabic initial foot : 

-X-X_// X- X — 

Than \ the soft \ myrtle ; \ but man, I proud man 



SyllahificaUon and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 17 

Schipper, in his Englische Metrih (Bonn, 1881-1888), holds 
(1) that there may occasionally be extra-metric syllables. Thus, 
for example, he finds trisyllabic feet in 

To adore the conqueror, who now beholds. I 323. 
/ / 

Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme. I 248. 

(2) Two light and two heavy prose-syllables when forming 
a verse-foot, he correctly treats as having one and only one 
verse-stress. 

(3) When prose-stress demands that verse-stress (belonging as 
it does on the even syllables) should, to coincide with it (the prose- 
stress), fall on the preceding odd syllable, or when in other words 
there is a tendency to trochaic substitution, there are two methods 
of treatment according to Schipper : 

A. We may have trochaic substitution. This, however, he lets 

occur at improper places ; as when no caesura precedes, 
/ / X . 

Of mart's \ first dis\obedience and the fruit. I 1. 

or in two successive feet, 

/ X / X 

With them from bliss | to the \ boiiom\less deep. P. B. I 361. 
He forbids, however, trochaic substitution in the final foot. 

B. We may at other times have what Schipper considers to be 
in all cases a more or less faulty usage, hovering stress. The 
phenomenon of hovering stress is this. The arsis does not, as 
in A, pass forward so as to coineide with the word-stress, but 
instead the stress hovers (which I take to be equivalent to rests 
practically level) on the two syllables, with, however, a slight 
distinguishing accent on the second syllable or arsis. Hovering 
stress is therefore best available when the two syllables have 
in prose almost level stress ; thus moonlight, with slightly out- 
weighing initial stress in prose, easily goes into the iambic line 

/ 
as moon-light. Schipper, however, uses hovering stress even when 

there is more disparity between the two syllables, thus, 

/ 
Burnt after them to the botto^/iless pit.^ 

^Strangely enough, Schipper suggests a different scansion for P, M. I 361, 

With them from bliss | to the \ bottom\less deep. 
using double trochaic substitution. 



18 Syllabijication and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

There are thus, according to Schipper, two methods of reconcil- 
ing conflict between the accentual systems of prose and verse when 
the syllables showing the conflict fall in the same foot. When, 
however, the conflict is between a (light) arsis and a following 
(heavy) thesis — the thesis of the next foot, — we can have recourse 
only to hovering stress, as an inversion (liere anapaestic postpone- 
ment of the arsis — just the reverse of trochaic substitution) would be 

in this case impossible. An example of this is beyond in X 805, 
X / X / 

His sen\tenoe be\yond dust \ and Nature's law. 

In criticism of the doctrine of hovering stress as expounded 

by Schipper, we may say that it satisfactorily explains the double 

verse-forms man-kind and man-hind, etc. ;' and even compounds 

/ / 

of the nature of unknown and unknown. For here the practically 

level prose-stress takes with the greatest ease, at the suggestion of 

the environment, the requisite ascending or descending rhythm. 

Hovering stress will not, however, explain how bottom, which, 
though indeed possessing a minor stress on -torn, is by no means 
levelly stressed, can be used as an iamb ; nor can it explain how 

beyond may show descending rhythm. For preponderating stress 

on -tom or be-, even though only slightly outweighing the other 

stress, would give to the word an improper and abnormal form. 

But this is just what hovering stress demands. Indeed Schipper 

agrees with Masson that 

/ 
Burnt after them to the bottomless pit. 

" is too horrible ; and such barbai:ous readers are imaginary." 

And yet Schipper's scansion really results in the same thing, for 

in order to make an iamb out of bottom upon the principle of 

hovering stress, the last syllable must preponderate however little 

over the first. 

We shall see hereafter that the only proper treatment of such a 
word is to let the (expiratory) prose-accent remain on its proper 
syllable, and to indicate the other syllable as arsis by a specific 
verse-accent the characteristic of which is pitch. 

Let Mr. Mayor, the author of Chapter on English Metre, London, 
1886, express himself under the three heads. He considers blank 
verse in general, not Milton's especially. 



Syllahificcction and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 19 

(1) Supernumerary syllables he admits, but he limits them with 
these words : "As to trisyllabic substitution, it is plain that if we 
set no limits to this, the character of the metre is changed. . . . 
I think the limit of trisyllabic substitution is three out of five 
[feet]." 

" We must distinguish, however, between the different kinds of 
trisyllabic feet. The anapest, which may be considered an exten- 
sion of the iamb, is the most common ; the dactyl, which is 
similarly an extension of the trochee, is only allowable, I think, 
in the first and either the third or fourth foot ; e. g., we may say, 

Terrible \ their approach \ terrible | the clash of war, 
or 

Terrible \ the clash | of war \ terrible \ the din. 
Whether amphibrachis, i. e. iamb followed by an unaccented 
syllable, can be allowed in any place, except, of course, cases of 
feminine rhythm, is perhaps doubtful. I cannot remember any 
parallel to a heroic line such as the following, but I see no objec- 
tion to it : — 
/ 
Rebounding \from the rock | the an\gry brea\kers roared.^^ 

in which the first foot is an amphibrach. 

"I have no doubt that we must recognize the substitution of 

tribrachs for iambs in English blank verse," as in 

/ X X / 
Melody on branch and melocZ^/ *^ midair. 

Tennyson, Gareth. 

(2) " With regard to . . . accentual irregularities, excess of accent, 
^. e. spondee, is allowed in any position, and I am inclined to think 
that . . . there might be four spondees in the line, supposing that 
the fourth or fifth foot remains iambic." 

" Defect of accent, the pyrrhic, may also be found in any posi- 
tion, but it is rare for two pyrrhics to come together, and perhaps 
impossible without a secondary accent falling on one of the 
syllables." He thus allows, erroneously, we believe, variation in 
the typical number of accents. 

(3) "I should be inclined to say that the limit of trochaic 
substitution was three out of five, provided that the final syllables 
remained iambic, otherwise two out of five." Thus we can get 
not only two but three successive trochees ; as well as final and 
non-csesural trochees. 



20 SyUahification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Mr. Mayor seems to favour anapsestic postponement of the arsis. 
For on p. 637 of The Transactions of the Philological Society 
(London), 1873-1874, in commenting on Abbott and Seeley'a 
English Lessons for English People, he finds fault with the scansion^ 

Oh, weep for Adona|is. The \ quick dreams. 

/ 
Then tore with bloody ta|lon the \ rent plain. 

and says "It is plain that in these lines the is about the least 

important word, and is intentionally prefixed to the important 

words quick and rent to give them additional emphasis. In 

technical language, the is here a proclitic; so far from laying 

any stress upon it, a good reader would pass it over more lightly 

than any other word in the lines. I am unable, therefore^ 

to see the propriety of speaking of it as bearing the metrical 

accent." 

This scansional system Professor Mayor has applied to ShelleyV 

verse in a paper entitled Shelley's Metre, London, 1888, Printed 

for private subscription. 

(1) Professor Mayor would find a trisyllabic foot (anapaest) in 

this line from The Cenci: 

X X / 

To rend and ru-m. What say ye now, my Lords ? 

where ruin is metrically monosyllabic. 

(2) Another mode of varying the metre, thinks Professor Mayor^ 

is the adding to or the taking from the number of accents in the foot. 

This, he says, is " so common that the exception is to find a line 

which does not contain feet with either no accent or more than 

one accent. Thus 

/ / X X / / . . 
The dry | fixed eye-lball, the | pale quivjering lip. 

has two spondees and one pyrrhic, altogether six instead of five 

accents." The ictus, we think, must really be placed as follows :; 
II I I I 

The dry | fixed eye|-ball, the | pale quiv|ering lip. 

(3) Great license is given to trochaic substitution. Thus Pro- 
fessor Mayor allows trochees to stand where not preceded by a 

caesura : 

/ 
And wild I roses \ and ivy serpentine. 

in the last foot : 



SyUabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 21 

/ 
And heard the autumnal winds like light \ footfalls \ . 

and successively : 

/ / 

If thou hast done | murders | , made thy \ life's path. 

The metrical accents on the words above italicized must, we hold, 

III I 

fall thus : roses, footfalls, murders, and perhaps made thy. 

The licenses of trochaic substitution and trisyllabic feet are 

frequently combined by Professor Mayor and he gives us such 

a scansion as : 

/ X X 
That ever came | sorrowing \ upon the earth. 

This we must correct to : 

/ 
That ever came | sorrowing \ upon the earth. 

In his article " The Translation of Beowulf and the Relations 
of Ancient and Modern English Yerse" in The American Journal 
of Philology, yol.YIl, 1886, pp. 46 if., Professor Gummere shows, 
naturally enough it seems when we note the general theory he is 
advancing, a tendency to underestimate the importance of certain 
of the arses in the heroic line. He believes that " we must regard 
Chaucer's great creation, heroic verse, as really founded on the 
national verse [of four stresses], not as an importation." That is, 
*'our heroic verse ... is simply the result of forcing the iambic 
movement (influence of foreign models played its part here) upon 
some late form of our four-stress verse. This process, in a word, 
reduces the pause [at the middle of the native line], and cuts down 
all triple measures (aside from cases of slurring); but it adds a 
new verse-stress, though this, in a majority of cases, has no syn- 
tactic force. Such a verse as Chaucer's ( C. T. 500) 
That if gold ruste, what shal yren do f 
is itself almost enough to support the above statement ; note the 
pause, the balance, the real movement : 

uu — — u|uu — u — 
as compared with the movement of the verse-scheme : 

u — u — u| — u — u— . 

Again, "The majority of heroic verses may be said to have 
really but four stresses. Further, any reader of English verse 
will remember a certain tendency, notably strong with Dryden, 



•22 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Pope, and Johnson, to balance lines in such a way that the verse 
falls in halves, with a slight pause after the second measure, or in 
the middle of the third (masculine or feminine pause), with a very 
weak third or fourth stress which in the case of a feminine caesura 
gives the effect of heaped-up light syllables.^ 

No secret island in the boundless main. 

Refund the plunder of the beggar'd land." 

In other words. Dr. Gummere, though not quite consistently 

with the earlier-quoted passage in which the expression " adds a 

new verse-stress " would make in and of arses, seems here to 

consider the proper reading (and if the reading of a line is not 

indicative of its scansion, what is ?) to be : 

/ / . / /. 

No secret island ± in the boundless main. 
II II 

Refund the plunder 1 of the beggar'd land. 

where the dash represents a slight pause which compensates for 

the absence of the third arsis. 

The proper scansion, of course, raises in and of into the arsis 
position by pitch-accent. 

In his essay "An Answer to the Question What is Poetry?" in 
Imagination and Fancy, London, 1844, Leigh Hunt's remarks on 
metre are confined to purely aesthetic judgments, and upon this 
aesthetic basis he does not attempt to raise a system of the 
mechanics of verse. 

Symonds, too, in his Blank Verse (Scribner's Sons, New York, 
1895), writes mainly from the aesthetic viewpoint. In his tech- 
nical exposition of verse he allows, we believe, too great freedom 
of scansion. " Successive trochees in the third and fourth places," 
he says, " of which there are several specimens in Milton, , . . are 
far from disagreeable in the English iambic." 

Again, while not so expressing himself explicitly, it is plain 

from his words that he scans two well-known lines from Samson 

Agonistes either with two successive trochees initially 
/ / 

For his \ people \ of old : what hinders now f 

^ Cf., says Gummere, Eieger oa the second auftact : Im Beowulf ist, wie iiberall, 
die anschwelluDg des auftactes mehr im zweiten als im ersten halbvers zu hause. 
AU- und Ags.- Verskunst, p. 59. 



Syllahificntion and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 23 

and, TJni\versal\ly crowned with highest praises. 

or with only four feet, the first two of which would be trisyllabic : 

. . / / 

For his peo'j)le of old | lohat hinders now f 

. I I 

Univer\sally crowned \ with highest praises. 

In the proper scansions, 

/ / 1^1 

For his | people, etc., and Uni\versal\ly, etc. 

the propriety of / is witnessed by 

Ill 642, Of many a coloured plume sprinkfd with gold. 

Y 750, In their triple degrees, regions to which, 
while the propriety of -al is shown by 

III 33, Those other two equall'd with me in fate. 

IX 370, But if thou think tria^ unsought may find. 
Again, avoiding obvious synclisis and syncopation he seems to 
scan this line from P. L. with two trisyllabic feet : 

XX / X X / 

Submiss ; he rear'd me, and, Whom thou soughtesf I am. 
So the line from P. B. 

The one winding, the other strait, and left between. 
" affords," he says, " a good instance of what is meant by the 
massing of sounds together, so as to produce a whole harmonious 
to the ear, but beyond the reach of satisfactory analysis by feet. 
It is not an Alexandrine, though, if we read it syllabically, it may 
be made to seem to have six feet. Two groups of syllables — 

The one winding \ the other strait \ 
— ^take up the time of six syllables, and the verse falls at the end 
into the legitimate iambic cadence. At the same time it would 
no doubt be possible, by the application of a Procrustean method 
of elisions and forcible divisions, to reduce it to an inexact iambic, 

thus : 

X / X / 

TA' one win\ding th' ot\her strait and left betiveen." 

Thus he sees what we consider the true method of scansion only 
to condemn it. 

A good example of the defect of Symonds's treatment of metrics, 
a defect always present in a system which is founded upon a sub- 
jective judgment of the scansion required by the meaning rather 



24 SyllabijiGation and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

than upon regard to the mechanical structure, may be seen in the 
following sentence, which, though having nominally to do with 
dramatic blank verse, really expresses his teaching upon the scan- 
sion of blank verse in general : " The one sound rule to be given 
to the readers of dramatic blank verse, written by a master of the 
art, is this : Attend strictly to the sense and to the pauses ; the 
lines will then be perfectly melodious ; but if you attempt to scan 
the lines on any preconceived metrical system, you will violate the 
sense and vitiate the music." 

Recent essays on metre have been appearing in the Arden 
Shakespeare, an essay being appended to each separately edited 
play. I have examined those in the volumes containing Richard 
II, Richard III, Hamlet, and Cymbeline. Dramatic or free blank 
verse differs from Miltonic or strict blank verse chiefly in 
this, — while the latter allows an eleventh syllable only at the 
end of a line (making thus a feminine ending), the former may 
have a trisyllabic foot at any place in the line. Criticism of 
the one kind from the syllabic standpoint is not, therefore, wholly 
applicable to the other. 

(1) But though trisyllabic feet are allowable in free blank verse, 
nevertheless an hypermetric syllable is frequently elided or other- 
wise obviated even in the dramatic line. Thus Dr. Herford, the 
editor of Richard II in the Arden edition, scans 

Sent back like Hallowmas or shortest of day. 

Stoop with oppression of their prod(i)gal weight. 

Let it be tenable in your silence still. (Hamlet.) 

I I 

Reproach and dissolution hangHh over him. 

What says your majesty ? Sorrow and grief of heart. 

with an extrametric syllable in majesty before the csesura. 
I have been studying how I may compare. 

" Sometimes the number of syllables is less than the normal 
ten, the stresses remaining jive. This happens especially after a 
marked pause. . . . But it hardly became a regular type [i. e. 
when it occurs it is felt as unrhythmical). E. g. 

Your grace mistakes ; only to be brief. Ill 3, 9." 



Syllabification and Acoent in the Paradise Lost. 25 

, (2) The necessity of five stresses to the line Dr. Herford puts 
well. He says "The essential structure of Shakespearian blank 
verse ... is a series of ten syllables bearing five stresses. The 
words stress and non-stress are here used for the metrical ictus^ 
or beat, and the pause between. It is essential to distinguish the 
series of stresses and non-stresses which form the rhythm, from the 
word- and sentence- accents which are accommodated to them. . . . 
The stresses may vary in degree ; syllables which bear a very slight 
natural accent being placed in a normally stressed place. Thus, 

To scarlet indignation, and bedew." 
(3) In regard to trochaic substitution he says, " Within limits, 
the alternate order of stress and non-stress may be inverted. As 
this causes two stresses to come together, and as two stresses can 
only be pronounced in succession when a slight pause intervenes, 
this inversion commonly coincides with a pause in the sense, and 
is thus found most often at the beginning of a line, [or] in the 3rd 
or 4th foot, sense-pauses commonly occurring in these places. . . . 
In the 2nd foot it is much less usual. Konig has reckoned that 
it occurs 34 times in Shakespeare in the 2nd place, against c. 500 
in the 3rd, and c. 3000 in the 1st. ... In the fifth the inversion 
has hardly become typical (i. e. when it occurs it is felt as unrhyth- 
mical). . . . Two inversions may occur in the same line, . . . but 
we rarely find two inversions in succession and never three." 

Some of the other Arden essays are less satisfactory than Dr. 
Herford's. Thus (1) Dr. Chambers, editor of Hamlet, prefers tri- 
syllabic feet to the obviously proper scansions 

1 am more an antique Roman than a Dane. 

Let it be tenable in your silence still. 

The light and careless Wwery that it wears. 

So Dr. Wyatt, editor of Cymbeline, prefers a trisyllabic foot to 
the scansion 

How bravely thou beGom\{e)st thy bed, \ fresh lily. 

Dr. Wyatt says, in regard to the (2) number of stresses in a 
line, that we may have feet of the form a a and xx, when a indi- 

^The phonetic or acoustic nature of the metrical ictus, however, Dr. Herford 
does not explain. 



26 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

cates a stressed, x an unstressed, syllable. He gives us, however, 
no idea as to how one of these syllables is to be distinguished 
above the other as arsis. Dr. MacDonald, editor of Richard III, 
recognizes the necessity of distinguishing between two equally 
accented syllables and says in regard to feet of the type a a, though 
the remark holds equally good for the foot xx, "The same foot 
cannot . . . contain two stresses of precisely equal strength. The 
beat of the rhythm must be distinctly perceptible, if the line is to 
be metrical." 

(3) Position of stresses. Dr. Chambers allows too great license, 
we believe, to trochaic substitution, inverting without a sufficient 
preceding verse-pause the second foot in 

The wind \ sits in \ the shoulder of your sail. 

Hamlet, I, 3, 56. 
But, as Dr. Herford remarks, " it is probable that [in Elizabethan 
English] both prepositions and the definite article [and the indefi- 
nite, too?] often bore a stronger accent than now." 

Dr. Chambers makes two consecutive trochaic substitutions, and 

final at that, in Hamlet, I, 3, 101, 

/ / 

Affection ! pooh ! you speak \ like a \ green girl \ . 

Dr. MacDonald gives a double trochaic substitution initially iu 

Richard III, III, 1, 188, 
/ / 

Shall we \ hear from | you, Catesby, ere we sleep? 

And fearing to accent the preposition in IV, 1, 56, he scans 

A cockatrice hast thou \ hatched to \ the world. 
making an inversion without a sufficient pause before it. 

Dr. Wyatt makes an undesirable initial inversion and omits a 
desirable synizesis — an omission which necessitates a trisyllabic 
foot — in Oymbeline, II, 2, 20, 

/ X X / X X / 

Bows to\wards her, | and would Mn|der-peep her eyes. 

Which should, we believe, be scanned 
/ / 

Bows towards \ her, and \ would wn.|der-peep her eyes. 

He makes the forbidden final inversion in IV, 3, 9, 

/ / 
The hope of comfort. But for thee \ fellow \ . 

Perhaps his most unsatisfactory scansion is the anapaestic post- 
ponement of the arsis which he finds in II, 2, 18, 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 27 

X X / / 

How dear|/2/ they \ doH ! ^Tis \ her breathing that. 

It will be observed that this scansion leaves the second foot 

without an ictus, while throwing two verse-accents into the third 

foot. Properly scanned, the ictus falls on they, of course, and not 

on doH: 

II I 

How dearjZ^/ they \ doH ! ^Tis \ her breathing that. 

Goswin Konig's treatment of Shakspere's verse, Der Vers in 
ShaJcsperes Dramen, Quellen und Forschungen, LXI, is seriously- 
vitiated, we believe, by such scansions as these : 

Thou hast done a deed, whereat | valour \ will weep. 

Coriolanus, V, 3, 134. 
/ 
We shall be called | 'purgers \ not murderers. 

Julius Ccesar, II, 1, 180. 
/ 
My heart \ prays for \ him, though my tongue do curse. 

Comedy of Errors, lY, 2, 28. 
In the above lines and many others, Konig finds himself obliged 
to make a trochaic substitution where there is no preceding verse- 
pause, due to the fact that he ignores the r6le played in verse by 
secondary stress which by a slight heightening of its pitch is fully 

capable of marking the rhythmic wave. The italicized words in 

// // // 

the above lines should bear the ictus thus valour, purgers, prays for. 

In a similar way the double trochees are to be altered in the 

faulty scansions : 

I. . I 
Villains, \ answer \ you so the lord protector ? 

Henry VI, Ft. I, I, 3, 8. 

TaJce the \ boy to \ you : he so troubles me. 

Winter's Tale, II, 1, 1. 

and others ; which we must read with the ictus so placed : 
// 
Villains, | answer | you so the lord protector ? 

Take the | boy to | you : he so troubles me. 
etc. 

Konig properly finds a final trochee very disturbing to the 
rhythm, and such a trochee he always attempts to obviate. This 
he does at times by considering that a thesis has fallen out earlier 



28 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

in the verse and that the trochee is really only a feminine ending, 

thus : 

/ (^) /x 

Appear in person here | in court. | Silence \ . 

Winter's Tale, III, 2, 11. 

At other times he does away with the trochee by having recourse to 

hovering stress : 

The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings. 

Antony and Cleopatra, V, 1 , 27. 

But why not avail one's self of the secondary stresses inherent in 

the second syllables of these words and read 

J I 
Appear in person here in court. Silence. 

. . . 11 
The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings. 

While Professor Gummere seems to take the method of scansion 

/ / , / / , 

No secret island — in the boundless main. 

merely as a manner of reading, the strict verse-scheme really requiring 
the time of the dash or rest to be filled by the following unimport- 
ant word, Mr. John Mackiunon Robertson in an appendix entitled 
Accent, Quantity, and Feet in his Nev, Essays towards a Ot^itical 
Method, John Lane, London and New York, 1897, elevates this 
method of reading into a metrical type. A large part of this 
appendix — an appendix to the essay on Poe — is given up to a 
review of " the endless discussion " " as to the scansion of classical 
verse," — a discussion which justified Poe, "convinced of the hope- 
lessness of resort to academic tradition," in his endeavour " to 
construct a metrical system on purely rational grounds." In the 
not always very lucid criticism of Poe's system which follows, 
Mr. Robertson gives expression to some of bis own metrical 

ideas. " Poe," he says, " gives us the scansion : 

u— u— u — u— u — 

A breath \ can make | them as | a breath \ has made, 

making five iambs. This is rhythmically false ; no good reader 

would scan so. He would read, pedally speaking : 

u— u— uuu— u — 

A breath can make them | as a breath has made, 

and if we are to be logical in our pedal notation we should make 

the line one of two feet of five syllables each, as some of the 

ancient grammarians would actually have made it. What has 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 29 

really happened is a pause after them, making the real scansion 

run 

u— u— u Ou— u — 

A breath can make them as a breath has made, 

and so keep up an iambic movement, with the slight variation of 

one anapaest. And this is the cue of the rhythmical essence of the 

first line of Paradise Lost 

u — u— uo— u — o u — 

Of man's first disobedience and the fruit. 

That is to say, the movement is essentially iambic, with the easy 

variation of two anapaests. ... It may be argued that this method 

of analysis will serve to certificate the most unrhythmical verse at 

will as rhythmical ; but this is a needless fear. A bad verse is 

so because it puts in a continuous run diversities of step which 

disconcert us; and no aid from pauses can cure such jars. We 

may, by pausation, make a risky line of Milton nearly quite 

rhythmical, as in 

u — u— u u— uu — uu — 
Burnt after them to the bottomless pit ; ^ 

where the undue stress on them is now the only flaw. 

But no pausation can cure such lines as Mr. Lowell's 

Uu — uu — uu — uu — 

Forty fajthers of free|dom of whom ] twenty bred ... 

u '-' T "-'^ ~ V^ *-* u— Ouu— u 

Each has six | truest patjriots four discovjerers of e|ther, 

where the anapaestic intention stumbles as if in epilepsy."^ 

The objection which Mr. Robertson himself suggests may be 
made to his system forms its real condemnation : " This method 
of analysis will serve to certificate the most unrhythmical verse 
at will as rhythmical." Anything is allowed ; and we cannot but 
feel that the severe criticism of at least the first of the above lines 
from Lowell is due rather to Mr. Robertson's animosity towards 
that critic, plainly shown in his essay on Poe, than to the fineness 

of an ear which can tolerate the scansions 

/ / / . /. 

Of man's first disobedience and the fruit ... , 

III I / 

Burnt after them to the bottomless 'pit. 

Dr. Charlton M. Lewis in his thesis entitled The Foreign Sources 

of Modern English Versification {Yale Studies in English, No. 1, 

Halle, 1898), covers extensive ground, tracing the rhythmic princi- 

^I imagine (but who can tell ?) that ^ between after and than is a misprint. 
"In reality, the first of these lines is tolerable. 



30 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

pie from " the syllabic verse of some of the oldest parts of the 
Avesta/' through the quantitative classical metres, the Mediaeval 
Latin hymns, and early French verse, to English soil. Only in 
his last section, § 51, The syllabic principle in Modern English 
verse, does he express opinions which directly concern our modern 
pentametre. Our five foot verse, he says, "affords some recogni- 
tion — though feeble — to the syllabic principle." In a strict and 
thorough-going application of this principle the integrity of the 
number of syllables would be the one thing needful. It is this 
principle which, partially applied, justifies, thinks Dr. Lewis, the 

two consecutive trochees which he finds initially in 
/ . / 
Palpi\tated, \ her hand shook, and we heard. 

The Princess, IV 370. 
and medially in Paradise Lost, X 178, 

/ / 

And dust shall eat | all the \ days of \ thy life. 

and the three consecutive trochees in 

/ / . / 

Harmon\izing \ silence \ without a sound. 

Epipsychidion (near the end). 

and, Belus \ or Se\rapis \ their gods, or seat. 

Par. Lost, I 720. 
The harshness of these inversions entirely destroy the iambic 
rhythm. These lines must of course be scanned 

/ . // 
Palpi\tated, \ her hand shook, etc. 

II II 

And dust shall eat \ all the | days of | thy life. 

IIarmo\nizing \ silence \ without a sound. 

while in Par. Lost, I 720, Milton evidently said Serapis, cf Part 
II, The accent of various words. 

As Dr. Lewis considers that the presence of the syllabic princi- 
ple is shown clearly in the inversions he finds in the above lines, 
so he thinks it is conclusively proved in cases of anapceslic post- 
ponement of one of the five accents. This happens in "all those 
verses which are commonly described as containing pyrrhics 
followed by spondees." Thus he says " the line from The Cenci, 
The house-dog moans and the beams crack; nought else. 

Ill 2. 
may be divided into feet as follows : 



SyUahijioaiion and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 31 

The hou8e\-dog moans \ and the | beams crack \ nought else, 
the third foot being a pyrrhic and the fourth a spondee. But if 
it be compared with the following, 

The house\-dog moans \ and the beams \ are cracked, 
it will be seen that the reading of the first four feet is exactly the 
same in the two cases, so far as time and stress are concerned.'^ 
The latter line is in the familiar Christabel metre, and the third 
foot is an anapaest : — so we see that the pyrrhic in the former line 
is not a foot at all, except to the eye. It seems doubtful wisdom, 
therefore, to try to reduce such verses to regularity by dividing 
them into dissyllabic feet at all. The better explanation is that 
while the postponement of the third accent is a variation from the 
normal, the strict observance of the syllabic rule keeps the verse 
within bounds." 

For a criticism of this improper scansion see Part II, 4. 

For the proper method of scansion : 

// / 

The house-dog moans \ and the \ beams crack \ ; ncmght else. 

see Part II, 3 a and 6. 

Mr. H. C. Beeching's criticism in The Athenceum, June 1st, 

1901, of Professor Bright's method of scansion calls for a word 

in reply. The fundamental objection which Mr. Beeching finds 

to Dr. Bright's system is the acceptance of such accentuations as 

/ / . / / . 

amorig, beyond, and many, parent. It is not now necessary to dwell 

upon the historical justification of such forms. In Part II this 
shall be done at some length. For the present, let us meet Mr. 
Beeching on his own ground, and, like him, appeal to the judg- 
ment of the unphilologieal reader. Would not this personage be 

inclined to accept the accentuation among, before in the following 
stanzas of Wordsworth and Tennyson ? 

I travell'd among unknown men 

In lands beyond the sea ; 
Nor, England ! did I know till then 
What love I bore to thee. 
— A life of nothing, nothing worth 
From that first nothing before birth 
To that last nothing under earth. 

^ This statement is erroneous. 



32 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Again, while the unphilological reader might be so bold as to 
accept a trochee for an iamb in any one of the first four feet of 
a blank verse, would even he allow such a rhythm-destroying 
inversion in the final foot? Would he not rather, of the two 
evils, if Mr. Beeching will, prefer as the lesser such an accentuation 

as surface, for example, in the line 

Which of us who beholds the bright surface f 
The form of expression we have just used indicates that we 
concede that to the unphilological reader there might conceivably 

be a possibility of choice between surface and surface. Wholly 
impossible, however, is it that anyone should refuse, to instance 
but one out of numberless similar examples, such an accentuation as 

lovest in the fifth stanza of Shelley's Invocation, where the rime 

fixes the accentual form beyond choice. 
II II 

I love all that thou lovest, 

Spirit of Delight ! 

The fresh Earth in new leaves drest 
And the starry night, etc. 
Thus even the unphilological reader will probably concede that 

Milton, Shelley, Tennyson, Wordsworth furnish us with surface^ 

III 
lovest, among, before. 

The insufficiency of the views of metricians has been perhaps 

fully enough illustrated in the above review, and justifies, we 

believe, the following pages. 



Syllabification and Aocent in the Paradise Lost. 33 

PART I. 

SYLLABIFICATION. 



Divisions of Part I : — 

Syllabification. 

A, within a word. B, between words. 

{a and /3) Synizesis corresponds to Synclisis ^ 

Syneresis " " | ?'f f. H ^l^^^o"' 

^ lEcthlipsisJ 

(7) Syncope - .f Apocope and 

L Apneresis (of vowels). 

Dieresis is treated along with Synizesis and Syneresis, Hiatus 
with Elision. 

Definitions : — 

Synizesis is the falling together of two contiguous vocalic 
elements within a word into a diphthong : chari-ot > chariot. 

This is a very common phenomenon. 

Syneresis is the falling together of two contiguous vowels 
within a word into a monophthong. This is not a common 
phenomenon. Even where it seems to occur it is difficult to 
distinguish it with certainty from Synizesis. Perhaps we have 
examples of it in cre-ature >- creature, Cana-an > Canaan. 

Opposed to Synizesis and to Syneresis is Dieresis, which is the 
standing apart of two contiguous vowels within a word so as to 
form two syllables : fe-alty, ide-a, Ba-alim, etc. This phenomenon 
is common. 

Syncope is the cutting out of a vowel within the body of a word. 
Except in certain verbal endings it is very rare. 
3 



34 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Elision is the blending of two contiguous vocalic elements in 
separate words into a monosyllable. It occurs in three forms : — 

(1) In Synclisis both the vocalic elements remain and form a 

I XX I I X I I X X I I XI 

diphthong : many a man >• many a man, able as he > able as he. 

Synclisis is very common. 

(2 and 3) In Crasis and Ecthlipsis one of the two vowels is 
absorbed in the other. In the written word these phenomena are 
hardly to be distinguished from Synclisis. 

(2) In Crasis the second vowel is absorbed in the first. An 

XX / X / 

example of this is perhaps No ingrateful food > No 'ngrateful food, 
V407. 

(3) In Ecthlipsis the first vowel is absorbed in the second. An 

X X / X / 

example of this is perhaps To whom thus the portress > T' whom thus 
the portress, II 746. 

Apocope is the cutting off of final, Apheresis the cutting off 
of initial, sounds, vocalic or consonantal. These phenomena are 
very rare, the only examples being i(n) th{e) (twice), and {o)f thy. 

Opposed to Elision is Hiatus, which is the standing apart of 

two contiguous vowels in separate words so as to form two syl- 

/ X / 
lables : from all the \ ends. This phenomenon is very common. 

The correspondence between the phenomena of syllabification 
as occurring within a word and between words is to be noted. 
Thus Apocope and Apheresis, when vocalic, correspond to Syncope ; 
Crasis and Ecthlipsis to Syneresis; and Synclisis to Synizesis. 
So Hiatus corresponds to Dieresis. 

The above terms are employed in accordance with ten Brink's 
usage in his Chaucerian grammar. 

A. Syllabification within a word. 
a. Synizesis and dieresis of vowels. 

General rule : Two vowels in contact stand in dieresis if one of 
them is under the primary accent ; otherwise they suffer synizesis. 

1. a before or after tonic vowel. Dieresis is regular^ : La-ertes, 

^In the list which follows, the examples of pre-tonic a precede the semicolon, 
those of post-tonic a follow. So also for e, i, etc., under 3, 5, etc. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 35 

H-ereal ; fe-alty, ide-a, re-al, the-atre, unagi^ee-ahle, di-adem, 3fo-ah, 
voy-age, Ba-alim (cf. Balaam under 2), etc. Important among 

this class are proper names in -ce-a, -e-a, -ei-a : Judce-a, Uzze-an, 
Tarpei-an. 

Exceptional synizesis, or perhaps preferably syneresis (monoph- 
thongization), is constant in creature. 

Varying usage is found in three words : diamond, Messiah, trial. 
In the last two, ia stands regularly in dieresis, but we have 
Messiah in XII 244, and trial in I 366. In diamond, on the 

contrary, synizesis outweighs dieresis, and we have di-amond in 
III 506, Y 634, but diamond in lY 554, Y 759, YI 364. 

2. a + atonic vowel. Synizesis (or syneresis) is regular : 
Balaam, Canaan, Canaanite, Isaac, Israel^ etc. 

Exceptional dieresis in Senna-ar, 

Yarying usage. In Abraham the h is generally weakened and 
the two a's form one syllable. In XII 152, however, they stand 
in dieresis. Michael and Raphael vary : 

Of thunder and the sword of Micha-el. II 294. 

Thy Maker's image, answered Michael then. XI 515. 

/ / . ^ 

Micha-el and his angels prevalent. YI 411. 

/ / 

Michael, this my behest have thou in charge. XI 99. 

3. e before or after tonic vowel. Dieresis is regular : be-atitude, 

Be-ehebub, Ele-ale, Cle-ombrotus, cre-ate (and its similarly accented 
derivatives), pre-amble, re-alities ; se-er, ve-hement (though perhaps 
the h is strongly enough sounded to keep the vowels apart), nigh-est, 
qui-et, embow-eVd, low-er, pro-em, cru-el, etc. 
Synizesis: satiety y 111 216, j^ursuers. 

Yarying usage : diet but di-eted ; variety YII 542, but vari-ety 

YI 640 ; soci-ety in 

/ / 
Among unequals what soci-ety. YIII 383, 

but society in 

For solitude sometimes is best society. IX 249 ; 
* Sometimes Isra-el in P. B. 



36 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

piety and pi-ety ; generally high-er and high-est, but also higher 
and highest; generally hi-erarch, but 

Of hierarchies, of orders, and degrees. 

4. e + atonic vowel. Synizesis is regular : atheist, Boreas, 
all-bounteous, Bethlehem (with weakened h), delineate, gorgeous, 
Leucothea, meteor (cf. mete-orous in 7), spontaneous, etc. 

Exceptional dieresis : recre-ant, Briare-os, Capre-ce, Pane-as, 

Pelle-as, Be-ersaba.. Proper names, due to their un familiarity, 
would naturally tend to keep the fuller form. In the last word 
this tendency is aided by the initial position of the atonic syl- 
lable, — a position which has a peculiar strength. 
Variation. Generally ethereal, but ethere-al V 499. 

5. i before or after tonic vowel. Dieresis is regular : Bri-areos, 

Gui-ana, i-ambic, Sy-ene, Thy-estean, tri-umph, Ethi-opian (cf. Ethiop 

in 6), expi-ations, medi-atioii (cf. the varying forms of mediator 

below), Ophi-uchus (cf. Ophiusa below), Sogdi-ana, Susi-ana; 

Mahana-im, Mosa-ic, assay-ing, survey-ing, see-ing, enjoy-ing, vow- 
ing, bloiv-ing, fiu-id, vacu-ity, ly-ing, etc. 

./ \ . .1 . \ . ./ . 

Synizesis : Serraliona, humiliation, propitiation (the recession of 

the secondary accent in the last two words is to be noted; cf. 

Part II, 3 c, and The accent of various words), Ophiusa, Damiata. 

oi is always treated as a diphthong : choice, foil, join, etc. 

Disobeying, obeying, displaying, viewing occur only final, and in 
that position seven times altogether. The great preponderance 
of the masculine ending may point to the probability of these 
words suffering Synizesis, but positive decision is impossible. 

Variation. Generally say-ing, but twice saying; almost uni- 
versally ru-in (and so its derivatives), but ruin I 91, and ruinous 
II 921 ; generally _^2/-m^, but flying twice; regularly dy-ing, but 
dying once; cZo-m^^ and do-ings generally, doing II 162; the 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 37 

noun being usually occurs in the final position where its syllabifi- 
cation is of course ambiguous ; when not final it behaves contrary 
to the rule, being only once be-ing II 865, to fiour times being ; 

deity and deities however illustrate the rule, being generally each 
three syllables; we have deities, however, in VI 157, and deity 

IX 885, XI 149; the form is ambiguous in 

The Deity and divine commands obeyed. V 806. 

Medi-ator X 60, mediator XII 240. 

6. i + atonic vowel. Synizesis is regular. There is great 
wealth of illustration: Abdiel, audience, bestial, chariot, costliest, 

demoniac, JEthiop (cf. Ethi-opian under 5), Oeryon, idiots, inglorious, 
myriads, obsequious, Quintius, saviour, speedier, speediest (the con- 
stant way of treating comparatives and superlatives of adjectives 
in -y), superior, symphonious, tragedians, valiant, zodiac, etc. Syni- 
zesis affects some words the fuller forms of which would seem 
to be more euphonious : costliest, illustrious, stateliest, etc. The 

syllable suffering synizesis is often followed by another syllable : 

Adiabene, immediately^ vitiated, mysteriously, variously, gloriously, 

commodiously. 

Exceptional dieresis : expi-ate, soci-ably, the proper names 
Dari-en, Ithuri-el. In insati-able, vari-able, soci-able, dieresis is 
due to the fact that -a- is more suitable for an arsis than is -ble. 

Varying usage. Gladli-er VI 731 is contrary to every 
other case of -ier and -iest in P. i. ; thus VIII 47 gladlier. 

Gabriel and Uriel, though generally regular, show each one excep- 
tion,— Ga6ri-eZ initially IV 865, and Uri-el III 648. In I 112 

^As to the scansion of immediately in XI 477 and XII 87, we hare the choice 
between 

/. / / . / / . / . 

immediately a place, immediately inordinate, 
and / -/ / ■ /-/ / / 

immedi-ately a place, immedi-ately inordinate ; 

but the only possible scansion of VII 285, immediately the mountain, would show 

the former of the above pairs to be right. 



38 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

we find the adjective suppliant, in X 917 the noun suppli-ant. 

The difference is hardly due to the difference of grammatical 
category. It is more probable that the final position of the 
latter word tends to cause its fuller form. I have not collected 
tnany data to verify this hypothesis — i. e., that final position 
in the line tends to preserve the fuller form of the word, but 
examples like the following point to such a tendency, 
Final 



effemi-nate 


Non-final : effeminate 


gene-rate 


temperate 


exasper-ate 


regenerate 


dolo-rous 


dolorous. 



7. before or after tonic vowel. Dieresis is universal : Cho- 
I / , / / 

aspes; cha-os, Nebai-oth, Galile-o, Le-o, mete-orous (cf. meteor in 4),, 

Chi-os, Hermi-one, li-on, vi-olated, vi-olet, etc. 

8. + atonic vowel. Synizesis : arrowy, bellowing, echoing^ 

followers, Meroe, Samoed, Siloa. 

Exceptional dieresis in the the-ologians and pi-oneers is due to 
the strength of initial syllables. Aro~er preserves the fuller form 
perhaps because it is a proper name. 

/ 

9. u before or after tonic voweL Dieresis : fru-ition; Ima-us^ 

I I 

Asmode-us, Lycce-us, tri-umph, pi-ous. 
I I 

Exceptional synizesis : puissance, puissant. 

10. M + atonic vowel. Synizesis is usual : assiduous, casual^ 

extenuate, fiuotuates, impetuous, Joshua, mellifluous, presumptuously, 

profluent, sensualist, transpicuous, visual, voluptuous, virtuousest, etc ^ 

Exceptional dieresis: vacu-ous Yll 169. Dieresis in situ-ate 
VI 641 may be due to the exceptional syncopation of the past- 
participial ending in a verb which ends in a dental (cf. Part I, A7). 
Any further shortening would be undesirable. Dieresis in sanctu- 
ary, insinu-ating, situ-ation, is due to the fact that of the two final 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 39 

syllables bearing secondary accent the next to last is the more 
suitable for use as arsis. 

Variations. In influence dieresis occurs seven times, synizesis 
twice. Possible the u is kept so often in a separate syllable by 
the double consonant preceding it, for when it suffers synizesis 
the second syllable starts off with the heavy consonant combina- 
tion /w. Superfluous, on the other hand, inclines strangely enough 

to the form superfluous which occurs three times, while we find 

superflu-ous but once, IV 832. The different behaviour of the two 
words is perhaps due to the fact that in the latter word the /can 
combine with the previous syllable much more easily than in the 
former word, thus in-flu-ence but superf-luous. 

Five times spiritual forms but two syllables, and is therefore 
scanned sph^itual. Four times it forms three syllables. It is 

impossible to say in the latter case whether it shall be scanned 
spiritu-al or spir-itual, spirit being as customary in Milton's usage 

as in -ual. The trisyllabic occurrences are (initial) IV 585, V 

406, XII 521, (medial) V 573. 

■ 11. In other tonic combinations synizesis is usual. This seems 
contrary to the general rule, -ower and -our are triphthongal in 
nature, due to a vocalic glide preceding the r ; but the triphthong 
never breaks up into two syllables save occasionally in the case 
o{ flower and power. Some of these words are bower, coivering, 
dower, hour, lour, powerful, shower, tower. Flower and power, too, 
are always monosyllabic except in one instance each : 

With flow-ers, garlands, and sweet-smelling herbs. IV 709. 

At which command the pow-ers militant. VI 61. 
Flower is very frequently final, in which position, due to the great 
preponderance of masculine endings, a word is best considered 
monosyllabic. 

Similarly we have diphthongs and triphthongs, not dieresis, in 
faey-y, fiery, prayers, sewers. Friars, which occurs but once and 

then finally, is from its position probably a monosyllable. 

loward and towards. This word in its two forms is almost 
always monosyllabic. In five cases, however, it must be scanned 



40 SyllabiflGation and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

as two syllables. Two of the lines containing its dissyllabic form, 
/ / 

Straight to-ward heaven my wond'ring eyes I turned. Y III 257, 

Safe to-wards Canaan from the shore advance. XII 215, 
are, if scanned as suggested with inverted initial foot, ambiguous 
as to the accentuation of to-ward{s). But YI 648, 

When coming to-wards them so dread they saw. 
gives the word initial accent, as do also lines IX 495 and XII 296. 

yS. The development of syllabic nasals and liquids and their syni- 
zesis with contiguous syllables. 

An atonic syllable containing a nasal or a liquid tends to lose 
its vowel, letting the nasal or liquid become syllabic. The syllabic 
nasal or liquid may then suffer synizesis with the contiguous 
syllable. The cases are three : — 

I. The syllabic nasal or liquid undergoes synizesis with an 
atonic vowel : bordering > bord-r-ing >> bordering. 

II. The syllabic nasal or liquid undergoes synizesis with the 
tonic syllable. Of this there are two cases : — 

a. The syllabic nasal or liquid has developed from vowel + nasal 
or liquid. Then the synizesis is with, not the tonic vowel but, the 
tonic syllable, which must end in a very sonorous sound. 

Thus fallen y^falln '^falln. 

b. The syllabic nasal or liquid has developed from nasal or 
liquid -\- vowel. The synizesis is then with the tonic vowel. Thus 
flourishing ^ flour shing '^flourishing. 

Taking up these cases in turn we shall find that I, the synizesis 
of the syllabic nasal or liquid with the atonic vowel, is common ; 
while II a and 6, the (development and) synizesis of the syllabic 
nasal or liquid with the tonic syllable, is unusual. The similarity 
of these usages to the general rule for the synizesis and dieresis 
of vowels is evident (cf. Part I, Aa). 

I. I. Development and synizesis of I with an atonic syl- 
lable is fairly frequent : javelin, devilish, articulate, credulous (in 

IX 644 ; in P. R. II 166 the fuller form occurs), oraculous, 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 41 

pendulous, popular. In these latter words the u must have been 
yet a monophthong, — not a diphthong as at present. A set of 
words belonging here is formed by derivatives from words in 
-ble : fable-\-ing =:fabl -\-ing ";> fabl-ing (three syllables) y- fabling 
(two syllables). This is true synizesis of I, and when we add this 
category to the words first mentioned, the forms showing synizesis 
preponderate over the fuller forms now to be cited. 

The fuller forms are frequent : Sofa-la, vassa-lage, marvel-ling, 
fami-ly, deso-late, fraudu-lent, regu-lar, Baby-Ion, etc. 

Varying usage is found in perilous which is once dissyllabic 
(I 276) and once trisyllabic (II 420). We have orbicular in X 381, 
but orbicu-lar in III 718. Populous shows synizesis of I three 
times (I 351, 770, IX 445) against its fuller form twice (II 903, 
VII 146). With the last word we should compare the scansion 
popular, which is used in all four occurrences of this word. 

m. Development and consequent synizesis of syllabic m does 
not occur. Thus : tourna-ment, ele-ment, impedi-ment, astrono-mer, 
Solo-mon, etc. This constancy of usage enables us to decide 
between the two possible scansions of IX 494 and IX 905, which 

we must read 

/ / . ^ 

So spake the ene-my of mankind, enclosed. 

Of ene-my hath beguiled thee, yet unknown. 

instead of scanning enemy, with hiatus between the y and the next 

word. 

n. Development and consequent synizesis of syllabic n is 
very common : covenant, bituminous, business, reasoning, reasonant, 

unseasonable. Further, the very large class of present participles 

of verbs in -e7i ; betokening, chastening, hardening, etc. 

But the fuller form of similar words is very common also : 
Gompa-ny, arse-nal, proge-ny, emi-nence, imagi-ning, coro-net, 
fortu-nate, etc. 

The words that vary are countenance, which is generally 
shortened, but occurs in its full form in III 730 ; original, which 



42 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

is shortened four times, but occurs thrice in its full form, II 375, 
IX 150, 1004, {originals in its single occurrence is un contracted) ; 
lumi-nous II 420, luminous VIII 140. We have luminary and 

luminaries each once jfinal, where it is impossible to decide certainly 
as to the scansion. The preponderance of the masculine ending, 
however, is in favor of the shortened forms. This is supported 

by YII 385, 

/ . // 
With their bright luminaries that set and rose. 

Usage seems to be about equally divided between the full and 
the shortened forms in the words under this section. 

r. Development and consequent synizesis of syllabic r is so fre- 
quent as to be considered, perhaps, the rule : barbarous, nectarous 

(cf. necta-rine below), answering, artillery (cf. mise-ry below), 

collateral, considerate (cf. gene-rate, ite-rate below), delivey^ance 

(cf. igno-rance below), difference, feverous, liveries (cf. sente-ries 

below), mastery, utterance, arbo7-ous, corporal, labourers, savoury, 

adventurous, torturer. 

The fuller form, however, frequently occurs, as : adulte-ry, 
circumfe-rence, exaspe-rate, gene-rate, ite-rate, mise-ry, mode-rate, 
sente-ries, igno-rance, etc. The fuller form may perhaps be 
expected when the syllable following the r is not a common 
formative element : cata-ract, necta-rine, favou-rite, cormo-rant, 
Thamy-ris. Moreover the fuller form is to be expected when 
the shortened form would throw a less suitable syllable into the 
arsis : mise-rable, insepa-rably. 

Varying usage in the same word is frequent. In such words, 
however, the shortened form is the commoner one. Words of 
which the reverse is true are marked (*) in the following list 
of words showing varying syllabification : — 
Conqueror twice : conquer-ror I 323 

: conquer-rors XI 695 
dangerous generally : dange-rous II 107 

desperate II 107 : despe-i^ate III 85 



Syllahificaiion and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 43 

different generally : diffe-rent I 636, IX 883 
emperor twice : empe-ror II 510 

/ \ 

"^innumerable V 585 : innume-rable generally 

"^liberal IX 996 : libe-ral twice 

mineral I 235 : mine-ral IV 517 

numerous generally : nume-rous XI 130 

pondering generally \ ponde-ring VI 127 

prosperous II 259 : prospe-rous XI 364^ 

reverence generally : reve-rence VIII 599 
^reverent in P. R. once : in P. L. 7'eve-rent three times 

temperance generally : tempe-rance XII 583 

amorous generally : amo-rous IV 31 1, VIII 477, IX 1035 

dolorous twice : dolo-rous II 619 

odorous generally : odo-rous V 482 

natural generally : natu-ral X 765 

sulphurous twice : sulphu-rous VI 512. 

In the above list the preference for the fuller form of liberal and 
reverent is exceptional or accidental. In the case of innumerable, 
the fuller form is preferred, as the shorter form throws into 
arsis-position the ending -ble which is less suitable for this purpose 
than is the -a~. 

II a. The development of a syllabic liquid or nasal from 
vowel 4- liquid or nasal, and its consequent synizesis with the 
tonic syllable. This process, or at least the synizesis, is exceptional, 
not regular. 

^ It is interesting to compare these two occurrences. The first is in the body 

of the line: prosperous of adverse. The second is initial: prospe-rous or adverse. 

Here we need a trochee plus an iamb, and therefore prosperous, though in just 
the same collocation as in the first passage, must be scanned with one more 
syllable. 



44 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

I. Generally dev-il and ev-il, but evil occasionally, and devil 
X 878. "" ^ 

m. There is no word in which the treatment of m according 
to II a. would be possible. 

n. 

-len. In this combination the fuller form occurs only in sullen. 

Otherwise : befallen, fallen, stolen, swoln. 

-ren, -ron. -ren occurs only once, i. e. in barren, which retains 
the full form, -ron occurs only in iron, which in like manner 
generally counts as two syllables. 

In II 878, III 594, XI 565, however, iron forms but one 
syllable. In the first and last of these lines. 

Of massy iron or solid roch with ease. 
Labouring, two massy clods of iron and brass. 

it would be possible to let the n of irn syllabify with the initial 
vowel of the following word. But this kind of slurring we shall 
later find to be quite exceptional, save in the case of I in the 
ending -ble. Moreover in III 594, 

With radiant light, as glowing iron with fire. 
synclisis of the n with the next word is impossible, and here at 
least we must have irn > irn. 

o ^ ^ 

-ven. This combination in certain words retains its full form : 
clov-en, rav-en, riv-en, generally the adjective ev-en, and various 
compounds of wov-en. It is interesting to note concerning this 
last word that when Milton uses the past participle where a mono- 
syllable is metrically required, he does not change wov-n > wovn, 

but employs the n-less form wove ; as in III 352, 

Their crowns in-wove with amarant and gold, 
-ven inclines, however, to the form -vn: graven, given, seven 

(and its compounds), the noun even (wherever we can be sure of 

its scansion, i. e. medially ; it is frequently final), the adverb even ; 

the adjective even is, however, generally dissyllabic, though it is 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 45 

shorteDed in VI 544 ; generally driven, though driv-en certainly 

at least twice, VI 738 and VII 185. When final its scansion is 

of course ambiguous ; as it is also in III 677, which naay be read 

in two ways, 

/ / 

Who justly hath driv-en out his rebel foes. 

; / — / . / 

Who justly hath driven out his rebel foes. 

Heaven, simple and compounded, is regularly monosyllabic. Not 
infrequently, however, it is treated as two syllables. There is 
always a question how heavenly -\- vowel shall be scanned. Thus 
we have the two possibilities for I 138, 

As far as gods and heavenly f essences. 

As far as gods and hea-venly essences. 

The preponderance of the form heaven and the not great infre- 

quence of such an hiatus as -ly t essences, would point to the first 

scansion as preferable. The other lines in which the same question 

arises are VIII 453 and X 641. In XI 871 we have both 

synizesis and synclisis, 

/ . / . 

At present, heavenly instruction, I revive. 

-zen, -zon. Here the full form is customary : braz-en, froz-en, 
imblaz-onry, seas-on, treas-on. 

Among the four words that show varying syllabification, prison 
and reason are regularly dissyllabic, though we find prison in I 71, 

VI 660; and reason in I 248, VIII 591, IX 559. Chosen is 

twice dissyllabic, I 8, III 183, and twice monosyllabic, I 318, 
IV 691. Risen, which occurs rather frequently, goes contrary to 
the regular usage, being always monosyllabic in P. L., though 
once in P. R. it appears as a dissyllable, II 127. 

r. 

The full form — with a single exception — is constant : cov-er, 
hith-er, pover-ty, riv-ers, and generally ev-er. 
The one exception is ever III 244. 

At first sight we might think that we have further examples 
of forms similarly shortened in the monosyllabic use of pillar 



46 SyUabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

II 302, XII 202, 203 ; whether X 57, XI 296 ; savour X 269 ; 
river III 358. But we find that in each of these cases the follow- 
ing word begins with a vowel. We have accordingly synclisis 
rather than synizesis. Cf. Part I, B. 

II b. The development of a syllabic r + vowel, and its con- 
sequent synizesis with the tonic vowel, is most exceptional. It 
takes place in flourishing in its only occurrence, P. R. Ill 80. 

Authority occurs a number of times, but the shortened form 
authority we find only once, P. R. II 5. Both of these reductions, 

it is to be remarked, are found in P. R. 8pirit(s), however, it 
was Milton's custom from the beginning of P. L. to use as a 
monosyllable. The fuller form occurs about 30 times out of 100, 

or 1 in 3. 

/ .\ / . \ / \ 

In spir-ited, spir-itless, spir-itous, the secondary accent on the 

derivative syllable is used as arsis and shortening does not take 

place. 

In other words of the form o^ flourishing the shortened form is 

never used : car'-avan, cher-ishing, mer-its, glor-ify, etc. ; 

idol-atries, civil-ity, pol-icy, vol-uble, etc. ; 

rem-idy, calam-ity, Trem-isen, etc. ; 

min-ister, un-ison, in-nocence, etc. 

7. Syncopation. 

Syncopation (except in certain verbal endings) is most excep- 
tional. All the cases are as follows : capHal II 924, XI 343, 
XII 383 {eap-i-tal occurs I 756) ; CapHoline IX 508. 

No other instances occur, and words which would seem to lend 
themselves excellently to syncopation are not so treated : cap-i-tol 
(P. R. IV 4:1)Jelic-i-ty, dif-fi-cult, etc. 

The second person singular ending -est is regularly syncopated 
both in the present and in the preterite. 

Regularly syncopated is the preterite and past-participial ending 
-ec?, save in verbs whose roots end in d or t. There are, 
however, a goodly number of exceptions to the syncopation of -ed, 
and we have not infrequently wing-ed, blessed, curs-ed, arm-ed, 



Syllabijicfition and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 47 

forJc-ed, etc. When the adverbial ending -ly is added to a past 
participle in -ed, the fuller form seems to have been preferred by 
Milton. Is this preference due to a possible acoustic uncertainty 
as to form that might have resulted from syncopation ? Be that 
as it may, even to the present day, when -ed is elsewhere uniformly 
syncopated (except after t and d), the fuller form is preserved 
before -ly. Thus Milton writes : 

Deserv-edly thou griev'st, composed of lies. P. R. I 407, 
and similarly in P. R. lY 133. This confirms the scansion of 

II 914, 

/ / 

Confus-edly, and which thou must ever fight. 

which otherwise might have been read 

Confusedly, and, etc. 

We have on the other hand a few cases in which syncopation of 
the past-participial ending in -ed takes place after a stem ending 
in t, with consequent simplification of the double dental : uplift 
I 193 (cf. uplifted I 347, II 7), unsusped IX 771, convict X 83; 
and these words in -ate: elevate II 558, alienate V 877, infuriate 
Yl 486, situate VI 641, frustrate XI 16. 



B. Syllabification between Words. 

Following ten Brink in his Chaucerian grammar we use the 

term Elision as comprising Synclisis {many a man, both vowels 

retained as a diphthong), Crasis {No ingrateful food Y 407, loss 

of the second vowel), and Ecthlipsis {To 'whom thus the portress 

II 746, loss of the first vowel). It is generally unnecessary to 
distinguish these subdivisions of Elision. 

It will be seen that Elision, whether Synclisis, Crasis, or 
Ecthlipsis, always means the monosyllabification of two con- 
tiguous vocalic elements. 

-e of the, final ^ of -hie, and -y are very frequently elided before 
(or suffer synclisis with) a following initial vowel. If, however. 



48 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Miltou's preference seems here to elide, the exigencies of the metre 
often decide between hiatus and elision. Accordingly we may get 
such a line as XI 345, 

Fi^om all the f ends of the earth to celebrate. 

Other less usual elisions are : 

1. {th)e, -y, -{b)l, elided before h : 

the: I 520, 577, H 759, III 560, IV 610, VI 79, VII 322, 371, 

VIII 45, IX 52, X 204, 684, XI 372, 583. 

-y: III 677,V 366, IX 905, X %Q, 722, 874, 906, XI 333, XII 340. 
-ble: IV 250. 

2. the elided before w: VIII 613 [the way). 

3. Other vocalic endings elided before vowels : 

to: I 323, IV 67, V 271, 360, 383, 576, 614 {into), Qll, 725, VI 

316, 636, VII 350, IX 648, 992, 1140, 1185, X 110, 334, 

467, 486, XI 170, 236, 596, XII 437, 499, 515. 
Other o's ; I 470, 584 {Morocco), II 450, III 108, V 407 (no), 

628, IX 296 {though), 1082, X 203, XII 611. 
-ow: I 558,11 518,111 120, V 575, X 717, 1092, 1104, XI 757, 

XII 613. 
be, thee, me, he, we: I 245, II 703, III 3, IV 758, 839, V 107, 

553, 563, VIIE 316, IX 121, 152, 546, 570, 746, X 75, 149, 

762, 766, 769, 795, XI 689. 
-tue (generally in virtue; twice in continue): 

II 314 {continue), III 586, IV 371 [continue), 848, VI 703, 

VII 236, IX 110, X 884. 
thou: X 121, 758. 

journey: V 559. , 

they: X 567. 
I: VIII 611. 
my: X 468. 

4. Other vocalic endings than {th)e, 4, -y, elided before h : 

to: I 524, 525, 749, II 98, 746, 968, V 447, 467, VI 814, 909, 

IX 1153, X 12, 594, XI 453. 
thou: X 198, XI 347. 

6e; VIII 649. 
virtue : X 372. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 49 

(5) n and r elided before vowels, 
n; IX 764 {eaten), IX 1025 {forbidden), X 116 {garden), X 983 

{begotten), 
r: II 302 {pillar). III 358 (nVer), YIII 498 {mother), X 269 

(savowr), X 57 and XI 296 {whether), XII 202 and 203 (pi7/ar). 

There follow a few lines in which care must be used in making 

the elisions : 

/ / 

Created hugest that swim the ocean stream. I 202. 

/ / 

GamboWd before them ; the unwieldy elephant. IV 345. 

Firifwe in her shape how lovely ; saw and pin' d. TV 848. 

No in grateful food ; and food alike those pure. V 407. 

Of rainbows and starry eyes. The waters thus. VII 446. 

/ / 

Leads up to heaven, is both the way and the guide. VIII 613. 

Because thou hast hearkened to the voice f thy wife. X 198, 

(showing also apheresis in Y.) 
/ / 

Against God only, I against God and thee. X 931. 

A pillar of state ; deep on his front engraven. II 302. 

The phenomena so far treated under B correspond to a and /5 
under A. Corresponding to A7, Syncopation, we have double 
apocope (the cutting off of a final sound) in the change of in the 
to i' th', I 224, XI 432 ; and apheresis (the cutting off of an initial 
sound) of of thy to 'f thy, X 198. These are the only cases of 
apocope and apheresis in the poem. 

The following erroneous scansions containing the italicized tri- 
syllabic feet cannot be corrected by elision, apocope, or apheresis. 
, , / \ 
With impetu-ous recoil and jarring sound. II 880. 

, / 
And Ti7'esi-as and Phineus, prophets old. Ill 36. 

/ \ . 
And Cbrpore-al to incorporeal turn. V 413. 

\ . / . 
And propiti-atwn ; all his works on me. XI 34. 

\ / 
By humili-ation and strong sufferance. P.B. I 160. 

/ / 

On Lemnos, the Age-SLn ile ; thus they relate. I 746. 



' 50 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Before thy feKoi^s, am6iYi-ous to win. VI 160. 

\ / 
Therefore thy Awmifl-atioa shall exalt. Til 313. 

Of sorrow unfeign'd, and AwmtYi-ation meek. X 1092, 1104. 

Proper aecentuatioa (and a consequent simple synizesis) will in 
each case correct the scansion. These lines will be therefore treated 
in Part II. 

Concluding remark to Part I. 

From the above data I think we may be sure that Milton's epic 
line is written upon a strictly decasyllabic basis. If he meant the 
vowels, liquids, and nasals, which we have treated above, to form 
independent and separate syllables, why did he not at times intro- 
duce hypermetric syllables so hedged about by consonants as to 
prevent that amalgamation of neighboring vocalic sounds into one 
syllable which we have advocated ? But this he did in all in only 
the seven cases pointed out above, — three times in capital, once in 
Capitoline, twice in in the, and once in of thy. With these excep- 
tions, the so-called extra-metric syllables are always in contact 
(generally vocalic) with a syllable with which they can combine by 
the simplest phonetic processes — either elision (generally in the form 
of synclisis) or synizesis — to form a (diphthongal) monosyllable. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 51 

PART II. 

NUMBER AND POSITION OF ACCENTS. 



The ideas which underlie my treatment of the number and 
position of accents are not my own but are due to Prof. Jas. W. 
Bright's insight and originality. A suggestive exposition of some 
of the more important points of his metrical theory is made by 
Dr. Bright in two articles, the first being " Proper Names in Old 
English Verse " in the Publications of the Modern Language 
Association of AmeriGa,Yol. XIV, pp. 347 fF., the second "Con- 
cerning Grammatical Ictus in English Verse " in An English 
Miscellany Presented to Dr. Furnivall in Honour of his Seventy-fifth 
Birthday, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1901, pp. 23 ff. 

The various theories as to the proper manner of reading 
poetry may be called the sense-doctrine, the ictus-doctrine, and 
the rhythm-doctrine. 

The sense-doctrine teaches that the only way to preserve the 
sense of a line of poetry is to read it exactly as if it were prose. 
At times this method of scansion gives good rhythm as in the 

line 

/ / / II 

Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste. 

but frequently the rhythm is ruthlessly violated : 

/ / . / , /. 

Of man^s first disobedience and the fruit. 

This theory so ignores the music of the line that it may be dis- 
missed from further consideration. 

The ictus-doctrine demands that in reading verse the words 
standing under the ictus shall always be strongly stressed, and 
that no other words may be strongly stressed. This method of 
scansion has the virtue of always giving a rhythmic reading, 

which may at times be consonant with sense, as in 
/ / / / / 

Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste. 



52 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost 

but is quite as often at odds with it. Thus in the line 

Nor served it to relax their sensed files, 
to, though an arsis, deserves beyond question only a weak stress ; 
while in 

Of Thammuz yearly wounded: the love-tale, 
love, though only a thesis, must yet for the sense be stressed. The 
ictus-doctrine can suggest no reading for these lines. 

Thus as the sense-doctrine disregards rhythm for sense, so the 
ictus-doctrine disregards sense for rhythm, and like the first must 
be dismissed. 

It is plain that we must have regard to both sense and ictus. 
Let this more comprehensive method of scansion be known as the 
rhythm-doctrine, or (to anticipate our argument by the name), as 
it also might be called, the pitch-doctrine. 

In exposition of this rhythm- or pitch-doctrine, we must first 
call attention to one of the most essential characteristics of poetic 
enunciation, — monotony or uniformity in the utterance of all the 
syllables. Professor Lloyd ^ recognizes four several types of oral 
English : the vulgar, the careless, the careful, and the formal types. 
These types are described as differing chiefly in the matter of 
syllabic stress, the more elevated kinds of utterance containing few 
or no syllables which are stressless. ^It is obvious enough,^ says 
Professor Bright, ' that in formal utterance the language has qualities 
{which may be described as musical) which are available for artistic 
use, and that these qualities are bound up with the careful observance 
of not only the principal but also the subordinate stresses of the 



It is possible to state more exactly what accents, obscured or 
neglected in ignobler utterance, are conserved in more exalted 
diction, and especially in that of poetry? Such a statement is 
possible. From the present day back to the earlier Anglo-Saxon 
poetry, English poets have always made use of the right to place 
the ictus not only upon the second member of substantive com- 
pounds, but also upon such derivative syllables as -lie {-ly), -nesSy 
-ig (-2/), -er, -en, -el, -or, -est, -ing, etc. Cf. the marked ictus in 

'^Northern English: Phonetics, Orammar, Texts. London: D. Nutt, 1899, p. 30. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 53 

/ 
But coloured leaves of latter rose-blossom, 

Stems of soft grass, some withered red and some 

/ . , / 

Fair and flesh-blooded ; and spoil splendider 

. / / ■ 

Of marigold and great spent sunflower. 

Swinburne, The Two Dreams. 

Here the ictus is in conflict with the natural primary stress 
of the word, and the language in responding to the exigencies of 
verse, yields a new class of stresses, — new, that is, from the point 
of view from which prose-stresses are usually observed. 

In prose there is a kindred accentual phenomenon which will 
throw light upon this phenomenon of verse. When stressed syl- 
lables are to be contrasted or emphasized in prose, their normal 
accent (^stress + pitch) is simply increased : not good, but bad. 
What is done when unstressed syllables are to be contrasted or 

emphasized ? A reading of these sentences will suggest the answer : 

/ . / , / 

It has not been repaired but impaired. I'm going towards town 

/ 
not from town. The same phenomenon is observable in words 

which have not normally initial accent, when used as vocatives 

/ / / / 

and exclamations : Elizabeth, Jerusalem, Precisely, i^emarkable. 

We see how easily syllables may be made prominent without 
disturbing the fixed word-accent. Further, the accent of these 
emphatic prose-syllables bears a strong resemblance to the marked 
verse-stresses in the above-quoted lines from Swinburne. Now 
it can be easily seen that the new prose-stress is not a word-stress 
equal to the regular word-stress in expiatory force ; nor a reduced 
form of the expiatory word-stress, which would be nothing more 
than a secondary accent in prose. Rather, this new accent is a 
stress with a rising inflexion, a pitch-accent. The same is presum- 
ably true of the nearly related new verse-stress under consideration. 
We may say, therefore : When the verse-accent or ictus stands in 
conflict, it is attended by the pitch-accent. 

This conclusion is strengthened by an historical argument hinted 
at above. We saw that the poets have always felt at liberty to 
use for arses syllables having a secondary stress. But a marked 
characteristic of secondary stress is the important part played in 



54 Syllabifieation and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

it by the element of pitch. We are thus led in another way to the 
same result, i. e. that the ictus in conflict is marked by pitch. 

To bring out somewhat more clearly the characteristics and 
advantages of the rhythm- or pitch-doctrine of scansion, let us 
contrast it with the doctrines of sense and ictus above described. 
The advocates of the sense-doctrine claim that it alone enables 
the meaning of the verse to be properly preserved. In reality, 
however, the rhythm-doctrine is quite as efficient in the preserva- 
tion of the meaning of the line, for the characterization of the 
ictus by pitch enables us to retain the stress upon important words 
standing in the thesis. On the other hand, unimportant syllables 
standing in the arsis can be marked by the pitch-ictus without 
giving them an undue (stress-) prominence which would obscure 
the sense. 

The ictus-doctrine teaches that the rhythm can be properly 
preserved only when there is coincidence of stress and ictus. 
Accordingly when a thesis is stressed or an arsis unstressed, this 
doctrine offers no possible scansion of the line, but condemns it as 
unrhythmical. The rhythm- or pitch-doctrine, finding no invariable 
connection between stress and ictus, is delivered from this difficulty. 
For remembering that the ictus (and thus the rhythm) may depend 
much upon pitch, we see that a light syllable if distinguished by 
pitch is sufficient to mark the rhythmic wave, while a stressed 
syllable if relatively reduced in pitch can easily stand in the thesis. 

It is evident therefore that the rhythm- or pitch-doctrine com- 
bines the advantages of the two theories and preserves at once the 
sense and the rhythm of the words. ^ 

Symbols and Terms. 

(a). Ordinarily a syllable having primary stress, ^, stands in 
the arsis with the stress used as ictus. 

(yS). So a syllable having secondary stress, '**^ , ordinarily stands 
in the thesis, the secondary stress being disregarded metrically. 

Thus as examples of (a) and (/3) : 

^ For another statement of Professor Bright's theory cf. Dr. Julian Huguenin,^ 
Secondary Stress in Anglo-Saxon (a Johns Hopkins University diss.), Baltimore : 
John Murphy Co., 1901, p. 6, note 1. 



SyUabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 55 

/ / \ / / \ / 

Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste. 

(7). A syllable under secondary stress may, however, by an 
increase of the element of pitch, become available for use as an 
arsis. The accent it then bears is distinguished by heightened 
pitch without increase of stress, thus differing from both ordinary 
primary and ordinary secondary stress. This accent shall be 
represented by '', and may be conveniently termed the pitch-ictus. 

(S). Further, the pitch-ictus, //, may also rest upon an unstressed 
syllable. 

(e). A stressed syllable may stand in the thesis, if its pitch, 
relatively to the contiguous arses, is low. Its accent shall then be 
represented by ^, and may be conveniently termed the reduced 
primary stress. 

Thus as examples of (7) (S) (e) : 

// . A // 

Which of us who beholds the bright surface. 

(f). Unstressed syllables are represented by '^. 

[t]). a general symbol for the arsis is -, and for the thesis is <-'. 

(6). When two stressed syllables are used as an iamb by the 
reduction of the pitch on the first syllable (cf. e), the resultant foot 
may be called, with regard to the heavy stress still remaining on 
the thesis, a heavy iamb, ^ ^ . Cf. 

A / 

I mean of taste, sight, smell, etc. 

(c). When two lightly stressed syllables are used as an iamb by 

the placing of the pitch-ictus on the second, the resultant foot may 

be called, with regard to the light stress still remaining on the 

arsis, a light iamb, x //. Cf. 

X // 
Nor served it to relax, etc. 

(k). When the combination of a heavily stressed + a lightly 

stressed syllable is used as an iamb by the reduction of the pitch 

of the first syllable and the addition of the pitch-ictus to the 

second syllable, the resultant foot may be called, with regard to 

the combination of heavy stress still remaining on the thesis and 

light stress still remaining on the arsis — a stress-combination 

which constantly tends to turn the foot into a trochee — an unslnble 

iamb, A //. Cf. 

A // 

Which of us who beholds the bright surface. 



66 SyllabiJiGation and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

{\). This conflict between the stress-relation which favors one 
form of the foot (in k a trochee) and the pitch-relation which 
demands the other form (in k an iamb) is termed, simply, conflict. 
Conflict has two manifestations. One is as in k. Cf. further 6-13 
below. 

The other manifestation of conflict is jitst the reverse of the 
above, the stress-relation favoring an ascending rhythm, while 
the pitch-relation demands a descending rhythm. Cf. 

// A 

Yet en|vied ; a\gainst me | is all their rage. 
Cf. further 3-4 below. 

It is to be noted that in each case of conflict, whether ^ 1 1 or 1 1 ^, 
it is the j9i7cA.-relation which determines the form of the rhythm. 

1-4. Light and Heavy Iambs (x //, a /). 

1. The light iamb is common in Miltonic and all blank verse : — 
X // 
Nor served it to relax their serried files. VI 599. 

Though the type-line may be said to consist of five normal 

iambs (x /, or '^ /), the commonest form of the line has one light 

iamb. Less commonly two such feet occur : 
X // X // ^ 

Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf. I 329. 

I cannot cite an example of two successive light iambs in Milton. 

If they occur they are extremely rare. 



2. The heavy iamb is common in Miltonic and all blank verse : 

_ A / 

By conquering this new world, compel me now. IV 391. 
The heavy iamb is never used throughout the whole line ; it 
may, however, occur a number of times, and consecutively : 

A / A /_ 

I mean of taste, sight, smell, herbs, fruits, and flowers. VII 527. 

A / A / A / 

His full wrath whose thoufeeVst as yet least part. X 951. 

3. Light iamb -\- heavy iamb. — Stress Conflict. 

In 1 and 2 we have had examples of light and heavy iambs in 
what might be called a normal environment. In such conditions 
the pitch-accent has only to indicate which of two syllables having 
equal stress shall stand at the crest of the rhythmic wave. Suppose, 



Syllabificaiion and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 57 

however, that the light iamb is followed by a heavy iamb. Here 
a lightly stressed syllable shall be used as arsis though directly 
followed by a more heavily stressed syllable. This is of course 
easily accomplished by the use of pitch-accent on the first arsis 
and a reduced primary stress on the following thesis, but, as the 
stress-relation remains unchanged, there results one of the two 
manifestations of conflict (cf. Symbols and Terms \). Let us first 
consider this phenomenon when 

X // A / 

a. The conflict occurs in two words. Examples : hut to bring forth 

X // A / . _ ,X // A /. 

I 217, when with fierce winds I 305, inclination or sad choice II 

X // A / X // A / 

524, wounded the love-tale 1 452, me the dear pledge II 818, etc., etc. 

I find over 175 instances of this kind of combination of light 
+ heavy iamb (with consequent conflict) in the poem ; but in some 
cases the method of scansion might vary. 

It is to be remarked that the combination of light + heavy 

iamb (when the conflict is between different words) is particularly 

apt to stand at the end of a line, as in I 30, 40, 82, 97, 122, 217, 

238, 268, 256, 379, 452, 453, etc. 

It may happen that 

\ 

b. The conflict occurs in the syllables of one word, as : a goddess 

// A / ' \ // A / \ // A 

among gods IX 547, sentence beyond dust X 805, reluctance against 

God X 1045, etc. This phenomenon is of infrequent occurrence. 
There follow all the instances. Only three times (marked /.) 
does the word form the arsis of the fourth and the thesis of the 
fifth foot. 

Against IV 71, YI 813, 906, X 931, 1045; arr!^ong III 283, 

VII 623, IX 547 ; becomes XII 409 ; before YIII 464 ; between 

VII 473; beyond II 7, V 159, X 463, 805; confused II 615 ; 

//A //A // A // A 

except II 1032 (/.); obscene I 406 ; obscure II 132 (/.) ; supreme 
I 735 (/.), II 210; unless VIII 186.^ 

^ An analogous accentual development is to be observed in the following words : 
//,../ ,^,,,„ // / // / // / // / 

ambitious V 1 160, corporeal V 413, impetuous II 880, quintessence III 716, propitiation 

XI 34, humiliation III 313, X 1092, X 1104, P. B. 1 160. In ttese words we 



58 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

It is to be observed that in each case the syllable receiving the 
pitch-accent is a prefix of prepositional or adverbial nature, and 
may therefore properly bear, due to its independent idea-content, 
a marked stress. To this statement supreme forms an exception. 
Here the prepositional adverb is itself the root of the word and 
is hence peculiarly prone to receive the accent. 

c. The combination of light + heavy iamb when non-final may 
be easily changed into triple rhythm. Thus in part of II 18 

X // A / X / 

and the \ fix^d laws j of heav'n the conflict of the stress on jix'd with 

the pitch on the will find satisfaction in the form and the jix'd \ laws 

of heaven. This is more stable than the first form, in that it does 
not show conflict ; but in the second form there is still a reduced 

A , A 

primary stress (on laws), as there was in the first form (on jix'd). 
The second form is therefore not so perfectly regular as to induce 
the reduction of the first form thereto. 

When the combination of light -j- heavy arsis is final (as it 
generally is) ^ there is even less inducement to change it to triple 

X // A / 

rhythm. Thus the final feet of I 217 hut to \ bring forth, if 
reduced to triple rhythm, would satisfy the conflict and form a 

X X / A 

foot with feminine ending, thus, but to bring forth. But the 

have, not the choice of a secondary accent as arsis accompanied by the suppres- 
sion of the primary stress to thesis (as in the words above cited), but simply the 
choice of an unusual one of two possible secondary stresses as arsis, leaving the 
primary accent of the word still free to form the next arsis. That is, we should 

/// // / 

expect propitiation rather than propitiation. This recession of secondary accent is 

doubtless nearly related to the Germanic principle of recession of primary stress. 
A phenomenon just the reverse of the above, — i. e. the passing of the secondary 

stress towards the end of the word, is to be seen in Tennyson's use of palpitated 

for the more usual valpitated in 
' / // 
Palpitated, her hand shook, and we heard. 

The Princess, IV 370. 

// A // 
Rhythmically this may be likened to Milton's use (later to be treated) of universal 

II I 
for universal, which is, however, grammatically an example of the use of a secondary 

accent to the neglect of the primary stress, not of the choice between two 
secondary accents. ^ Cf. 3 a above. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 59 

impropriety that the strongly stressed word forth should sink 
to the position of second syllable in a feminine combination — a 
position that is properly very light — makes the first scansion of 
two light + two heavy syllables when final the preferable one. 

For examples of this combination used non-finally in triple and 
double rhythm, cf. from Browning's Glove, 

X X / A X / 

From the poor \ slave whose club \or bare hands'] 

X //A / X / 

and, And the\fix'd laws \ of heav'n. II 18. 
For examples of this combination used finally in triple and 
double time, compare another line of The Glove, 

X X / A 

And bade him make sport \ and at once stir 
(riming with : Up and out of his den the old monster), 

X // A I 

and I 217 : bid to bring forth. 
These comparisons seem to show that when non-final the com- 
bination is suited both to triple and double rhythm ; while, as final, 
its preferable and more dignified use is in double rhythm. 

4. Anapsestic postponement of Arsis. 

There is a scansion of two light + two heavy syllables which 
may suitably be here pointed out as erroneous. It may be called 
the anapaestic postponement of the arsis and is just the inverse of 
the phenomenon called trochaic substitution to be considered under 
(5). Like most errors in scansion it arises from paying undue 
attention to the logical or prose-emphasis. It may be represented 

thus : 

X X / / 
I 217, Hoio all his malice serv'd but to bring forth. 

The arguments against such a scansion are several, (a) It is 

condemned by an appeal to the rhythmic sense. (6) It leaves one 

X X _ 
foot {but to) without an arsis or verse-accent, and it gives to another 

foot {bring forth) two ictus, (c) A comparison with Anglo-Saxon 
usage. Trochaic substitution, or something very much like it, is 
freely allowed in Anglo-Saxon verse. Thus of type B, XJ.>^2, 
types E and C may be considered as variations due to trochaic , 
substitution in the first and second feet respectively ; thus E = 
^ X X ^, and C = X ^ ^ X. go in type A,^^^^, inversion of the 



60 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

first thesis and second arsis (or trochaic substitution) produces D, 
IJ-XX. There is one, and only one, more imaginable combination 
of two theses and two arses, namely xx II. This would be a 
variant formed from B, x - x -, by an accent-shift the exact inverse 
of trochaic substitution affecting the second and third verse-ele- 
ments, or in other words by the anapaestic postponement of the 
accent. Bat this form x x ^ -^ is forbidden in Anglo-Saxon verse. 
It is this very same faulty rhythm which renders invalid, I 

believe, the reading 

X X / _ / 
Pursues as inclination or sad 



5. Trochaic Substitution. 

The normal combination used for making an iamb is x /. 'We 
have seen in (1) and (2) that verse-ictus or pitch can turn x x and 
^ ^ into iambs, thus x // and ^ ^. We may go further. Even a 
descending prose-combination, -^ x^ or ^ ^ , can be turned into an 
iamb by pitch, thus ^ //. For example 

A // 

VII 311, . . yielding fruit \ after \ her kind, or 

A // 

II 544, Through pain \up by\ the roots. . . . 
Here, as in (3), there is conflict of pitch and stress. But 
here, unlike the phenomenon treated there, reconciliation of the 
opposing accents may under conditions take place. For initially or 
after a strong caesura the pitch-accent passes forward and coincides 
with the stress and we get trochaic substitution. Thus initially : 

/ X X / / X X / 

Wasting the earth II 502, Truce to his rest II 526 ; 

and after the caesura, where the substitution may be called ccesural : 

/ X X / 

of truce ; \ I ris\ had dipt. XI 244, 

/ X X / 
by thee, \ vile as \ I am. X 971. 

The restrictions to the passage of -^/Z to ^x (or ^^), are: (a) it 
shall not occur in the final foot (cf. 6) ; (6) it shall not occur twice 
in succession (cf 9) ; (c) it shall occur only after a distinctly 
marked pause, initial or csesural (cf. 7 and 8). 

As we have seen in the Introduction, these rules, deduced from 
genera] usage and an appeal to the rhythmic sense, are often 
violated by metricians. Thus Mr. Bridges inverts the final foot 
of X 840, 



Syllabijlcaiion and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 61 

/ 
. Beyond all past example and future. 

It were to be wished that the sense of the line described his 
method of scanning it. Unfortunately he has not been the only- 
one so to read it, nor yet will he be. Further, he inverts two 

successive feet in VI 906, 

/ / 

As a despite \ done a,\gainst the \ Most High. 

and makes a non-csesural inversion in I 253, 
/ 
A mind \ not to \ he changed by time or place. 

Do levelly stressed syllables ever take on the trochaic form ? 
Mr. Bridges says {Milton's Prosody, p. 17) "Initial weak feet 
are almost always made up of two monosyllables, and a slight accent 
will be given in reading to the first of them so that the foot is 
really inverted," an inverted foot being of course another expres- 
sion for trochaic substitution. He cites I 498, 
And in luxurious cities, etc. 
Again (p. 19) he says, "As a general rule, when the first foot is 
weak it will strengthen itself by a slight conventional inversion 
in spite of the sense, e. g. I 259, We shall be free . . . ." This, 
however, is a matter of individual choice, and I should prefer 
to read each of the above-cited initial feet as an iamb. 

According to the above-stated restrictions (a) and (b), trochaic 

substitution may occur in the verse as a whole as follows : 

in foot 1, (2), 3, or 4 ; 

in feet 1 and 3, 1 and 4, (or 2 and 4). 

The most frequent place for it is of course in the initial foot. 

Since a caesura after the first foot is rare, inversion in the second 

foot is very infrequent. It probably occurs in 
/ X X / 
Hell! What do mine eyes with grief behold. TV 358. 

Inversion at once in the second and fourth feet would be even 

rarer. 

Trochee + Heavy Iamb = E^ 

A marked and beautiful effect, which I have not seen recognized 
by the metricians, is gained when the trochee precedes a heavy 
iamb, as in X 96, 

/ X A / 

Came the mild judge .... 



62 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

The similarity frequently pointed out between type E of Anglo- 
Saxon verse and the common combination of a trochee + an iamb, 
becomes well-nigh an identity, if, more narrowly, we specify 
E^ and, for the modern combination, a trochee + a heavy iamb. 

/ X \ / / X A ./ 

Compare 'mo7'])orbed stred and Came the mild judge. 

I find about 175 examples of this combination, counting both 
its initial and its csesural occurrences. Some of the cases could 
of course be differently scanned. Tlie combination is much less 
frequent csesurallv than initially. Initially : 

/ X A ' / / X A / . 

Nor the deep troM. I 28, Both the \ lost hap\piness. I 55, 
/ X A / 

On the firm brimstone. I 350, etc. 

Csesurally : 

/ X A / , _ 

Shall long usurp ; ere the third dawning light. XII 421, 

/ X A / _ _ 

Stood whispering soft, by a fresh fountain side. IV 326. 

6-8. The Unstable Iamb in Normal Environment. 

6. The final unstable iamb. Whatever licenses are allowed to 
the earlier part of the verse, the final foot must always leave on 
the ear the true iambic cadence. If therefore a word of the 
form ^ X ends a line it must always be used as an unstable iamb 
A //. Thus, 

A // 

Which of us who beholds the bright surface. VI 472, 

A// 

Beyond all past example and future. X 840. 
For a list of the unstable iambs, see 7. 

7. The non-ccesural unstable iamb formed by one word. Since 

trochaic substitution may occur in the body of the line only after 

a csesura (cf. 5), we shall have to read the words the other tvay 

I I f\ II I II 

Satan, as the other way Satan not the other way Satan, although 

Satan is our natural pronunciation of the word. That is, if a 
naturally trochaic word appears in the body of the verse non- 
csesurally, we must have recourse to the pitch-accent to give to 
the word an iambic form. 

As it is often a matter of opinion whether or not a strong 
enough csesura for a following inversion (= an inversion-cassura) 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost 63 

exists at any given point, there is a corresponding difference of 
opinion whether the combination ^x shall go into verse as a 
trochaic substitution ^ x or as an unstable iamb ^ H . For 
instance in 

Gods, yet confest \ later \ than heaven or earth. I 509, 

A // / X 

shall we consider later to be an iamb later or a trochee later 'i 
That is, does an inversion-csesura exist before it? 

In extreme cases there can be no doubt ; thus in V 750, 
In their triple degrees ; regions in which. 
there is as unquestionably no inversion-csesura after their, as their 
is one after degrees. Accordingly we read 

A // / .X . 

In their triple degrees ; regions in which. 
with triple as an unstable iamb, but regions as a trochee. 

In order that we may have a criterion which is not largely 
subjective, let us say that an inversion-csesura shall be considered 
to exist only at a punctuation point. 

According to this, I find in the poem some 69 cases of words 
the ordinary forms of which are trochaic, but which must be used 
as an unstable iamb. An approximately full list of these words, 
and of other similar unstable iambs which resist the trochaic 
form either on account of their final position (cf. 6) or on account 
of an immediately preceding trochee (cf. 9), is as follows. Only 
one passage is cited for each word. The order is alphabetical 
according to the ending which bears the verse-stress. 

A // A // A // 

-ace: surface YI 472; -age: image VII 527; -al: equalVd 

II A // A// A // 

III 33, (uni)versal YI 34, trial IX 370 ; -edge : knowledge YII 

A // 

543; -en: loaden TV 147, garden Ylll 299; -ent: orient YI 

524 ; -er: never I 159, under 1 345, later I 509, whether lY 907, 
ever Y 810, other Y 884, mightier YI 32, after YII 311, worthier 

IX 100, over X 253, waters X 79; -es: races IX 33; -est: 
busiest XI 490 ; -y : rallied (= rally'd) YI 786, glo7^y (the second) 

X 722, only X 936 ; -ing : rolling II 873, shading III 357, 
listening YII 106, borrowing YII 177, gardening IX 203, roving 

IX 575, dropping IX 582, blowing X 289, arming XI 374 ; -I : 



64 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

sprinkl'd III 642, triple Y 750 ; -on : visions XI 3.77 ; -u : argues 

II 234; -ure: nature's IV 207, azure^ VII 479 Juture X 840. 

A // A // 

Trisyllabic words ^c audibly Y 11 518; bottomless Y S6Q ; 

A // A // A // A// 

infinite V 874 ; odorous V 483 ; popular VII 488 ; {in)visible 

III 586, VII 122 ; i;^MZe IX 436 ; carbuncle III 596. 

The following notes will justify, with one or two exceptions, the 

employment of the secondary stresses in the above words : (Old) 

/ . / / . / / 

Fr. surface, image, equal, universal. Trial, composed of the M. E. 

vb. trie ' to pick out ' + the suffix -al, would be accented finally 

/ . / 

in analogy to such words as equal, universal. 

Knowledge, coming from the M. E. vb. knowleche which accord- 
ing to Kluge and Lutz presupposes an A.-S. *gecndwlcecan in 
which the secondary stress on the second member of the com- 
pound would frequently fall in the arsis, is thus justified in 

occurring as knowledge. 

From A.-S. times the past-participle ending -en was capable 

of bearing the ictus. 

/ ./ 
(Old) Fr. gardin, orient. 

Words in -er. Nouns of agency in -er might utilize as ictus 

the secondary stress on the derivative element in A.-S. Thus 

/ \ 
se fiscere. In the above list there is no word of this nature ; but 

other words in -er, whether the -er be original as in waters, 

whether, under, etc., or derived from -r(e), -r{a) as in never, later, 

etc., have conformed to the accentuation of nouns of agency in -er. 

1 For the trochaic form of the word cf. I 297, 
I I II 

On heaven^ azure ; and the torrid climb. 

The unstable iambic form occurs in VII 479, 

/ / / 

. . . and purple, azure and green. 

and in IX 429, Carnation, purple, azure, or specMt .... 

In the last two cases Mr. Bridges scans quite erroneously, 

/ / / 

. . . and purple, azure and green. 

Carnation, purple, azure or specMt .... 

This elision of -ure is not to be accepted. 

^ For further remarks on bottomless and popular cf. 12 ; on infinite and odorous cf. 9. 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 65 

races : the nom. plu. ending -as does not have a secondary 
stress in A.-S. 

busiest : the secondary stress on the superlative ending -est in 
A.-S. may ajEford an arsis. 

The forms rally and argue are to be held together. In the 

French forms there is a following syllable which receives the 

/ / 

accent : rallier, arguer. When in passing into English the Romance 

inflexional ending is laid aside, the accent continues final. 

Glory, coming from the Fr. form glorie which ends in a mute e 

that never receives the accent, should retain the root-accent of 

/ . 
its source. We may say either that glory is accented finally in 

analogy to other Romance words, or under the influence of native 

words in -He, an ending always bearing secondary stress and 

capable of standing in the arsis. 

Such a word is only < dnllc. 

The ending -i7ig inherits its accent from A.-S. -ing (-ung), which, 
however, was a nominal not a participial derivative. It is interest- 
ing to observe that the ending -end of the present participle in 
A.-S. bore a secondary stress which could always be used as arsis. 

The accent on the syllabic I in the frequentative ending of the 
native word sprinkle and in the ending of the French word triple 
is not etymologically justifiable. It must therefore be due to the 
influence of some analogy. 

(Old) Fr. vision, azur, nature, etc. 

Of the trisyllabic words, the accents of a number are explained 

by the Lat. (-Fr.) accents : audibilis, odorus, visihilis, voluhilis, 

carbunculus. 
II 
In bottomless) we see the utilization of the secondary accent 

on what is felt to be a derivative syllable in analogy to the 

accent resting on many derivative syllables from A.-S. times. 

infinite is probably under the influence of the simple -^ovA. finite. 

popular would seem to be anomalous. Cf. Lat. populdris, and 
Fr. populaire. 

8. The unstable iamb formed by two words. The syllables form- 
ing the unstable iamb may belong (not as in 7 to the same word, 
but) to separate words ; as in VI 796, 
5 



66 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost 

A // 

Against \ God and \ Messiah, or to fall. 

A // A // 

Other examples : is low raise and I 23, a veil down to TV 304, 

A II 

uncropt falls to IV 731 . The two-word composition of the ma- 
stable iamb is much more common than its one- word composition. 
It seems also to be far less unstable than the unstable iamb com- 
posed of one word, often not inverting into a trochee even after 
an inversion-caesura. Examples with a marked caesura and yet 
perhaps not showing inversion are 

A // 

Deep malice to conceal, couch' t with revenge. IV 123. 

A // 

Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve. IV 800. 
One may, however, invert these feet after the strong caesura. 

Of course a most important element to be considered in each 
case, where inversion is a matter of choice, is the relative strength 
and weakness of the first and second words. For all kinds of 
relation are possible, from almost level stress (when inversion 
would not be expected) to the case where the first syllable so 
out-weighs the second that inversion becomes necessary. 



9-11. The unstable iamb in combination with other feet 
than stable iambs. 

9. Trochee + unstable iamb. 

Inasmuch as two successive trochaic substitutions would destroy 
the iambic rhythm of the line, four syllables which would naturally 
form two trochees are put into the heroic line as a trochee + an 

/ , A // 

unstable iamb. Thus we scan : Save what sin hath VI 691, 

II A II ■ / All I A II 

Universal VI 34, By the waters XI 79, To the garden VIII 299, 

/ A // . IX A II 

Thro' the infinite host V 874, Spirits odorous breathes V 483, 
I A Jl 

In the visions XI 377, etc. The instances of such unstable 

iambs when composed of the syllables of one word are included in 

the list given in 7. The relative weight of the syllables composing 

the unstable iamb may vary. Thus more nearly levelly accented 

than the above examples are the iambs in : Where and what art 

II 681, On a sunbeam IV 556, Soon as midnight V 667, etc. 

These may perhaps be considered heavy, rather than unstable, iambs ; 



Syllahificdlion and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 67 

A / 

as we must certaiuly consider the iamb in : Nor the deep tract 
128. 

Remark. The unstable iamb is more unstable after a trochee, 
as in this section, than after a stable iamb, as in 6, 7, and 
8. The reason is easy to see. In the first case, as for exam- 

/ X A // 

pie in To the garden YIII 299, the suppressed primary accent 
on gar- tends to the arsis-position, being more prominent not 
only than -den but also than the. It is doubly hard, therefore, 
for gar- to sink to the thesis. 

X / A// 

In the second case, however, as for example in confest later 
I 509, the inducement to put ta- in the arsis arises solely from its 
prominence over -ter. The preceding syllable -fest does not (as in 
the first case) tend to throw la- into the arsis, the two being 
equally heavy. 

10. Unstable iamb + heavy iamb. 

When the unstable iamb is in the body of the line, it will 
usually be both preceded and followed by the normal iamb, as in 

X / A // X / 

What I is low | raise and \ support. 
Here there is conflict between i-aise and and, but and and sup-^ 
with their level light stress, and low and raise, with their level 
heavy stress, show no conflict. They are differentiated into arses 
and theses (without conflict) by the pitch-accent. 

But if, in the place of the light syllable sup-, we have a heavy 
syllable, then evidently there will be conflict between and and the 
following as well as the preceding syllable. The effect is peculiar 

and marked : 

/\ II ^ I 
And out of good still to find means of evil. I 165. 

Behold me then, me for him, life for life. Ill 236. 

A II A I 

Ceased warbling, but all night tun'd her soft lay. VII 436. 

T- A // A / 

For gods ! Yet him God the Most High vouchsafes. XII 120. 

Initially and after a strong caesura the first foot of this com- 
bination may be inverted, giving a combination already treated 
in 5. Thus, 

To judge them with his saints; him the Most High. XI 705 ; 
and initially, 



68 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

I X A / 

Came the mild judge. X 96. 

11. Unstable iamb + unstable iamb. 

The combination treated in 10 is rather jolting, and, moreover, 
is somewhat unstable, tending to invert the first foot to a trochee. 
Both the jolting effect and the unstability are increased if the 
arsis of the second foot is lightened and we get the combination 
unstable iamb + unstable iamb ; as in X 178, 

A // A // 

And dust shall eat all the days of thy life. 
This rhythm can hardly be considered satisfactory. 

Moreover it is very unstable, inverting the first foot after a 
verse-pause and giving the combination of trochee + unstable 

/ X A // //A // 

iamb, already treated in 9 ; as. By the waters XI 79, Universal 
VI 34, etc.; where conflict remains only in the second foot. 

Perfect stability would be gained only if the second foot, too, 
became a trochee ; but this would make the forbidden combination 
of two successive trochees, and is therefore avoided. 

12-13. Light iamb + unstable iamb. 

In the Remark at the end of 9 we saw that the unstable 
iamb shows special instability when it follows a trochee, as in 

/ X A // 

To the garden, due to the fact of its being preceded by the 
trochee'fci (light) thesis. It is, in like manner, particularly un- 
stable when preceded by the (light) arsis of a light iamb, as in 

X // A // 

remem\ber and \fear to VI 912. This combination may be 
followed by the normal foot or stable iamb and then we get — 

12. Light iamb -f unstable iamb + stable iamb, as in 

X // A // X / 

. . . remem\ber and \ fear to \ transgress. 

A // 

Here the instability of the unstable iamb /ear to is not increased 
by the following foot, as to and tra,ns- are in expiration about 
equal (in weakness). The instability of the foot (caused by the 
conflict between its two elements) is, however, heightened by the 
weakness of the preceding arsis and, which accordingly stands in 
conflict with /ear. Such a combination must stand in its unstable 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost 69 

form, for let reconciliation of the two conflicts take place and 

we get 

XX / X X / 

-ber and fear to transgress. 

But by so doing we lose an arsis, the resulting series of theses 

and arses forms two ascending trisyllabic feet, and the whole line 

becomes 

/ / / / 

Yet fell; remember and fear to transgress. 

This stable form of the line cannot, of course, stand in pentametre- 

verse, as it has two trisyllabic feet and only four arses. The 

unstable form, therefore, with its conflicts must be preserved. 

Other examples of this phenomenon are : 

X // A // X / X // A //X / 

to the bottomless pit VI 866, in her popular tribes VII 488. 
These words show the use of a secondary stress as arsis immedi- 
ately following the primary word-stress. Cf. the unstable iambs 
in 7. 

Further examples are : 

X // A // X / 

ethe\real quin\tessence \ of heaven. Ill 716. 

X^// A J/ X / 

fel\lows am\bitious \ to win. VI 160. 

X II A II X I 
And cor\poreal \ to in-. V 413. 

X II A II X /. 

With im\petuous \ recoil. II 880. 

These words show the use of secondary stresses as arses both 
preceding and following the primary stress. Cf. 3 b and footnote. 

Caution. The last three words must not be scanned ambiti-ous, 
I II , I II 
corpore-al, impetu-ous. For thus there is made with (the last 

syllable of) the preceding word a faulty trisyllabic foot, 
X X / // 
With impet\u-ous | , etc. 
II , ,1 , II . I . 

Cf. propitiation for propiti-ation in footnote to 3 b. 

13. Light iamb + unstable iamb + heavy iamb. 

When an unstable iamb, preceded by a light iamb, is followed, 
not by a normal iamb as in 12, but by a heavy iamb, we get the 
combination light iamb -\- unstable iamb -\- heavy iamb = 



70 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

X // 1 A // 1 A / = done a\gainst the \ Most High. YI 906. 
This form is, on account of the conflicts, unstable, and tends to the 
more stable form of two trisyllabic feet, thus, 

X X / X A / 

done against \ the Most High. 

Here we evidently have a reconciliation of the conflict between a- 

and -gainst. But, further^ there is a reconciliation of the conflict 

between the and Most; for in a trisyllabic foot, whether of the 

/ \ \ / \ / 

form X X x^ X X Xj or x x x (as here), a distinct secondary stress, 

here indicated by (""), is always possible on the syllable immedi- 
ately preceding the arsis. Thus in the trisyllabic foot the Most 
High, Most, suitably to its importance in meaning, stands in the 
position of what may be called the strong thesis. 

In VI 906 and in every other parallel occurrence in heroic verse 
the unstable form is of course required. 

The Accent of Various Words. 

Levelly accented compounds. In 3 and 7 we find a number of 
words which by utilizing a secondary stress could pass into verse 
as a trochee or an iamb, whereas their more natural form is an 
iamb or a trochee. This use of the secondary accent is to be 
distinguished from the phenomenon seen in the use of such a word 
as man-kind as either a trochee or an iamb. Such a word is so 
nearly levelly stressed in natural pronunciation that a slight 
suppression of the pitch of either element will leave the other 
an arsis. Thus Milton writes in I 36, 

A / , 

The mother qf\ man-kind \ , but in III 275, 

/ X / A / 

Found out \for man-\kind un\der wrath .... 

Similarly he uses as arsis either the first or second syllable of 
adverse, also, archfiend, consort, elsewhere, falsehood, forthwith, 
headlong, henceforth, into, meanwhile, mid-night, off-spring, side- 
long, sometimes, tenfold, thereby, therefore, therein, unblest, unwieldy, 
upright, warlike, whereat, wherefore, wherein, whereof, whereon, 
without, etc. 

Good-will, sea-beast, star-bright, and other like words, have 
final accent. But as they are of only a single occurrence, they 



Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 71 

-doubtless might as well have initial accent, and have, therefore, 
like the above words, really level accent. 

Certain nouns and adjectives. 

Among manv nouns and adjectives of foreign origin not having 

/ / . . / 

recession of accent, important are : blasphemous, crystalline, instinct 

(noun as well as adjective), insult, maritime (cf. Lat. maritlmus), 

I I . I . I 

obdurate, remediless, retinue, sinister, and numerous others, having 

initial accent at present. 

Miscellaneous words, chiefly substantival. 
II I . II I II I II ^ I II ^ I 
Accessories, acceptable, receptacle, contribute, attribute. 

II I II I 

In propitiation XI 34, humiliation III 313, X 1092, X 1104, 

(P. R. I 160), we have examples of the employment not of an 
unusual primary but of an unusual secondary stress. Cf. foot- 
note to 3 b. 

Certain proper names. 

I I 

Aegean. In I 746 we must read Aegean not Aege-an, the accent 

we should expect, according to the Latin-English method of 

accenting classical words, from both Latin Aegceum and Gk. 

/ / 

^Airyaiov. Thus, On Lem\nos th^ Ae\gean He. 

The form in P. B. IV 238 is ambiguous. Thus, 

/ / ' / 

Where on \ the Ae\g€an shore ... 

/ / / 

or. Where on \tN A€ge\-an shore. ... 

Pearce's note to I 746, quoted in Todd's Milton, 1809, II 364, 

runs : " So he pronounces Aegean in P. R. IV 238. Fairfax led 

the way to this manner of pronouncing the word, or rather to 

this poetical liberty ; for in his translation of Tasso, C. I. 60, 

he says, 

/ 
Cer Aegean seas, throvgh many a Greekish hold. 

Again, C. XII. 63, 

/ 
As Aegean seas, etc." 



72 Syllabification and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 

Serapis I 720. We must read 
/ / 

Belus or Serapis, etc. 

Pearce's note on this word, quoted in Todd's Milton, II 361,^ 

runs: "There are authorities which may serve to justify in Milton 

this departure from the classical accent upon the second syllable 

of Serapis ; for we read in Martianus Capella ' Te SerSpin Nilus, 
etc,' and, in Prudentius, ' Isis enim et SerSpis.' " 

But may not Milton's accent and the shortening of the penult 
in these late Latin writers both go back independently to one 
and the same thing, namely the Greek accent of the word which 
was SapaTTi? ? 

Tiresias III 36. The ordinary form of this word in English 

is Tiresias, the penult being short (Gk. "Yetprjala'i) ; but we must 

scan III 36 thus 

// / 
And Tiresias and Phineus, prophets old. 

Has not Milton here taken the accent of the original Gk. form 
Teip7]ai,a<i ? As to ia, though synizesis is indeed exceptional under 

the primary accent, it nevertheless does occur ; cf. deities VI 1 57, 

/. . . / / - / 

the diphthong oi as in choice, pursuers, satiety VIII 216, Messiah 

XII 244, etc. ^ 

Todd's note runs : " Dr. Bentley rejects this verse ; but it is 
genuine. . . . Dr. Pearce proposes to improve the line by reading 

And Phineus, and Tiresias, prophets old." 
Proof that Milton was not ignorant of the proper quantities (and 
consequent usual accent) of Tiresias, if proof be needed, is found 
in the pentametre 

Lrnnina Tiresian, Ogygiumque Linon. Elegy VI, 68. 

Dalila IX 1061. In this Hebrew word the penult is long. 
/ 
Hence we say Delilah. In IX 1061 we must, however, accent 

differently : 

I If I I 

Of Philiste-an Dalilah, and wa¥d. 

So in the three occurrences in S. A. 229, 724, 1072. Milton seems 

to have preserved the word's Hebrew accentuation which was 



SyUabificatiou and Accent in the Paradise Lost. 73 

final, — an accentuation probably reflected in one of the Gk. forms 
of the word, AaXiSd. 

/ \ 
The classical form Proserpina IX 396 is partially anglicized in 

IV 269 by the omission of the final vowel, but it retains the 

classical accent, thus ProserpinCe)} 

I II I 

Similarly Echatana P. R. Ill 286, and Ecbatan XI 393. 

It is interesting to note a phenomenon just the reverse of this, 

as cited by Guest in his English Rhythms, p. 87 (Skeat's edition). 

'' Nothing was more common," he says, " down to the end of 

Elizabeth's reign, than to find the perfect Latin word with its 

accents distributed according to the English fashion : 

Till that the pale Satumus the colde 

That knew so many of adventures olde. 

Chaucer. • C. T. 2445. 

Such one once was, or once I was mistaught, 

/ 
A smith at Vulcanus' own forge upbrought. 

Hall. Satires, 2, 1, 45." 
Aceent varying for substantival and verbal use. 

The words absent, confine, desert, frequent, importune, incense, 
subject, torment, are accented on the second syllable when verbs, on 
the first when nouns or adjectives (though P. R. has the adjective 

importune in II, 404). 

The native crystallized past participle uncouth, which is used as 
an adjective, has, substantivally, initial accent, not final accent like 
a verb. The accent was already initial in Anglo-Saxon. In con- 
temporary English it has become final. 

So Milton accents far-fet (=far-fetcht) and well-coucht initially. 

Among foreign verbs not having recession of accent are con- 
template, illustrate, and solemnize. 

The two native compound verbs out-do (occurring once), and 
fare-well (occurring three times where the accent can be determined) 
have initial accent. 

^ This is unlike present usage, according to which the anglicized form of the 
word has recessive accent, thus Pro8erpin{e). 

6 



LIFE. 



I was born in Baltimore in 1874. After spending the years 1885- 
1891 at Mr. Marston's University School for Boys, I entered the Johns 
Hopkins University and studied mathematics for one year and the 
classics for three years, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 
1895. After half a year of advanced classical work and half a year 
spent in the study of the elements of Anglo-Saxon, I took up in 1,896 
graduate English work under Professor James W. Bright, and courses 
in German under Professor Henry Wood. During the academic year 
1900-1901, I held the position of Fellow in English. For valuable 
instruction in phonetics and historical French grammar I am much 
indebted to Dr. Armstrong. My particular attention has been called 
to metrical subjects by Dr. Bright's original and interesting ideas on 
metre. 



?K3597 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




